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Bibby, Hawks get past scrappy Kings

Feb 19, 2009 - 7:20 AM SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- Mike Bibby scored 29 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 105-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Joe Johnson added 20 points and Al Horford scored 18 and grabbed 18 rebounds for Atlanta, which snapped an eight-game losing skid in Sacramento.

Johnson scored on a move in the lane with 38 seconds left to give Atlanta a 102-100 lead. Bibby then came up with a steal on the Kings' ensuing possession and Johnson split two free throws to extend the lead to three.

"We definitely needed this," Bibby said. It was a big win for us and we'll take it, any way we can kick it."

Bobby Jackson came up short on a 3-pointer for Sacramento and Bibby and Marvin Williams each made a free throw in the closing seconds to ice it.

"Turnovers really cost us at the end of the ballgame," Sacramento coach Kenny Natt said. We got in a funk in the third quarter there and got out of the rhythm that we had at halftime. We had to fight our way back and did so - just turnovers and poor execution late once again hurt us."

Kevin Martin scored 32 points for Sacramento, 24 of them in the first half. Martin added 11 rebounds.

Atlanta built a 13-point lead in the second quarter and led 55-45 when Sacramento went on a 14-0 run to close out the first half and take a 59-55 lead at the break.

"We bounced back. I thought we closed the half really bad. We're up 10 with I think 2:10 to go and they go on a 14-0 run. That's ridiculous," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "You can't come in at halftime being down after being up 10 points."

The Hawks outscored the Kings, 28-18, in the third quarter to take an 83-77 advantage into the fourth, but Sacramento didn't quit. Jackson tied the game, 100-100, with two free throws with just under a minute to play.

"Games we should win going away we tend to make them tough. That's something we've got to grow out of," Johnson said. "We're supposed to be better than that. We're trying to be one of the top teams in the East. We've got to get better as the season goes along."

"We weathered the storm," Woodson said. "I thought the third quarter we came out ready to play and got back into the ballgame. Then it was both ways the rest of the way. We made the plays that we had to down the stretch."

The Kings were playing a little shorthanded after acquiring four players earlier in the day in a deal that sent starters Brad Miller and John Salmons to Chicago. The Kings received Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin from Chicago.

"It definitely shook up our team. We lost two pretty good core players in Brad and John," Martin said. "We just want to wish them the best of luck and the guys coming in, hopefully they can do what they did."

Ruffin was dealt to Portland for Ike Diogu and to make room for the incoming players, the Kings waived Quincy Douby and Sam Cassell.