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Smith, Hawks seek fourth consecutive win

Feb 8, 2008 - 1:46 PM Cleveland (27-21) at Atlanta (22-24) 7:30 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Atlanta Hawks go in search of their fourth straight win against the shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers when teams meet on Friday.

The Hawks are coming off one of their most impressive wins of the season with Wednesday's 98-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Cleveland's LeBron James paying a visit, Atlanta coach Mike Woodson might have to rely on the defense of Josh Smith. The 6-9 Smith is averaging 5.6 blocks during this current winning streak.

Rookie Al Horford has also been impressive in the pervious three games. The third overall selection in June's draft is posting 9.2 points and 9.9 rebounds.

In their first meeting, Johnson scored 29 points to lead four others in double figures as the Hawks posted a 90-81 triumph over the Cavaliers on January 9.

On Thursday, Cleveland suffered its second consecutive road loss with a 92-77 setback to the Houston Rockets, despite 32 points by Bryant.

The banged-up Cavaliers might be without the services of Drew Gooden (groin), Anderson Varejao (ankle), Sasha Pavlovic (foot) and Daniel Gibson (hamstring).

Cleveland has won 11 of its last 14 games.