Paul Pierce scored 24 points in 18 minutes and the Boston Celtics opened a 37-point third-quarter lead before coasting to a 101-79 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Celtics can finish off the Hawks in Atlanta on Tuesday. Game 6 would be in Boston on Thursday, if necessary.

Two nights after his triple-double helped turn back the Hawks in overtime in Game 3, Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 16 assists as the Celtics got some much-needed rest for their aging and injured roster.

Josh Smith returned after missing Friday’s game and had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta. Al Horford, who played for the first time in almost four months, scored 12 points.

Rondo, whose triple-double Friday was the seventh of his career, may have been even better in Game 4, shooting 8 for 11 from the floor and sinking a pair of 3-pointers — tying a career high.

Perhaps the biggest boost of all for the aging and injured Boston lineup: Rondo and Brandon Bass were the only Celtics to play more than 30 minutes.

Pierce limped off the court favoring his left knee midway through the second quarter, but he returned for the start of the third. He was on the court as Boston scored 16 of the first 18 points in the second half to open an 80-37 lead with 8:13 left in the third quarter.

That was enough to earn Pierce, who played 47 minutes on Friday, some much-needed rest. Avery Bradley, who dislocated his shoulder in Game 3, played just 19 minutes Sunday and Ray Allen, who played 37 minutes Friday in his first game in more than three weeks, sat down after scoring 12 points and pulling down five rebounds in 19 minutes in Game 4.

The teams went to the locker rooms at the half with Boston holding a 63-41 lead. But during the break, the officials reviewed a jumper by Ray Allen and changed it from a 2-pointer to a 3-pointer. Rondo hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, giving Boston a 26-point lead, then Bass made a jumper and Pierce hit a 3 to make it 72-41.

By the time the Celtics were done with the 16-2 run to start the half, they led 80-43 and coach Doc Rivers was emptying his bench. Pierce headed for the tunnel to the locker room and pulled over a stationary bicycle to stay loose in case he was needed again.

He wasn’t.

The Hawks weren’t able to get any closer than 22 points before Rondo and Allen hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then Rondo made a behind-the-back fake to clear out the lane for an easy layup as Boston closed out the third quarter with a 90-63 lead.

Atlanta did cut it to 20 points in garbage time before Keyon Dooling made a 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes to play.

Notes: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attended the game with his wife, Ann. They left their mid-court seats with about 6 minutes left and Boston leading 98-71. … The Celtics shot 64 percent in the first half. … Tracy McGrady, a key contributor for Atlanta in Game 3, had just two points in 9 minutes.

AP PHOTO
The ball gets away from Boston’s Marquis Daniels, left, and Atlanta’s Willie Green Friday in Atlanta.

ATLANTA (AP) — When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a “preview.”

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

“For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard

position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

“When . . . you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play . . . I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

“Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

“That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. “It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 match-up against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed (behind the Pacers) and gain home court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

“It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. “I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

Notes: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. . . . The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.

by

The Associated Press

Associated Press

ATLANTA — When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a preview.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

“For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

“When you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play … I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds. “Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

“That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. “It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 matchup against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top-four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed — behind the Pacers — and gain home-court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

“It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. “I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

 NOTES: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. … The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points, and the Atlanta Hawks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics 97-92 last night to take a step toward landing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks (38-25) are in line to be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Celtics (37-27) are on track to be No. 5. This, however, looked nothing like a playoff game early.

Both teams shot over 50 percent and Atlanta took a 58-49 halftime lead while Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 points.

Boston left Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus at home with injuries, and perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce made the trip to Atlanta but Celtics coach Doc Rivers rested both stars after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Even without five players who either start or play big minutes, the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter.

Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead, and the Hawks held on for their first win in three games against Boston. Josh Smith had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and Keyon Dooling scored 17 points for the Celtics.

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat yesterday, especially when Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

Should Atlanta finish with a better record that would supersede Boston’s division title in determining home court in a head-to-head playoff matchup.

NOTES: The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 center-forward Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, also averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured center-forward Jermaine O’Neal. . . . The Celtics may be back to full roster strength for their next game, Tuesday against the Heat in Boston.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points, and the Atlanta Hawks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics, 97-92, on Friday night to take a step toward landing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks (38-25) are in line to be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Celtics (37-27) are on track to be No. 5. This, however, looked nothing like a playoff game early.

Both teams shot over 50 percent and Atlanta took a 58-49 halftime lead while Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 points.

Boston left Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus at home with injuries, and perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce made the trip to Atlanta, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers rested both stars after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Even without five players who either start or play big minutes, the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter.

Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead, and the Hawks held on for their first win in three games against Boston. Josh Smith had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and Keyon Dooling scored 17 points for the Celtics.

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

Should Atlanta finish with a better record that would supersede Boston’s division title in determining home court in a head-to-head playoff matchup.

Notes: The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, also averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal. . . . The Celtics may be back to full roster strength for their next game, Tuesday against the Heat in Boston.

The Associated Press

When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a “preview.”

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

“For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

“When . . . you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play . . . I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

“Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

“That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. “It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 match-up against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed (behind the Pacers) and gain home court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

“It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. “I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

Notes: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. . . . The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.
 

ATLANTA (AP) When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a ”preview.”

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

”For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. ”I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

”When . . . you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play . . . I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

”Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

”That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. ”It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 match-up against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed (behind the Pacers) and gain home court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

”It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. ”I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

Notes: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. . . . The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.

by

The Associated Press

Associated Press

Atlanta Hawks’ Joe Johnson, right, plays against Charlotte Bobcats’ Gerald Henderson, in an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 4, 2012, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

slideshow

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joe Johnson scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and eight Atlanta players scored in double digits in the Hawks’ 116-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.

The Hawks broke open the game in the third quarter by shooting 17 of 23 from the field while scoring a season-high 38 points. They won their third straight and remained in second place in the Southeast Division, ahead of the struggling Orlando Magic.

Zaza Pachulia had 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Jannero Pargo had 15 points and nine assists for the Hawks. Ivan Johnson added 17 points.

Corey Higgins, the son of Charlotte president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, scored a career-high 22 points for the Bobcats, who’ve lost 11 straight.

The Bobcats need to win three of their remaining 12 games to reach the 10-win plateau.

Atlanta (34-23) currently owns the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks scored 56 points in the paint and outrebounded the Bobcats 42-31.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 23-19 lead in the first quarter behind nine early points from Byron Mullens, who carried over the momentum early on from his career-high, 31-point effort Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

But the Hawks began to take over in the second quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 29-13 to take a 12-point lead at halftime behind solid play off the bench from Pargo, Marvin Williams, Ivan Johnson and Willie Green. The reserves played so well that coach Larry Drew stuck with them for most of the second quarter.

The third quarter has been a trouble spot for the Bobcats all season and it stung them again.

The Hawks went on a 12-2 run to open the second half to quickly build a 22-point lead. They hit 11 of their first 12 shots from the field in the period, many of those on uncontested layups.

The Bobcats fought back to trim the lead to 12 in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t close the gap any further.

NOTES: The Bobcats were without guards D.J. Augustin, and Reggie Williams, as well as forward Eduardo Najera. Najera had surgery Saturday to repair a frontal bone fracture and coach Paul Silas says he’s not expected to play for the remainder of the season.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew likes his team’s focus as it makes a final push toward the playoffs.

The Hawks, who are a half-game behind Indiana in the race for the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, got 18 points from Joe Johnson on 8-of-10 shooting and 57 points from their bench to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 116-96 on Saturday night.

Although the Hawks stumbled out of the gates in the first quarter Saturday night, they regrouped and took care of business against the NBA-worst Bobcats by scoring a season-high 68 points in the second half.

”We can’t have any mental letdowns,” Drew said, looking ahead to the final nine regular-season games. ”Here we are with nine games to go and we’ve shown that we can be a pretty good ballclub. But any coach is looking for that consistency heading down the stretch. This is no time to let up and to not finish the regular season on a strong note so we can carry some momentum into the playoffs.”

Zaza Pachulia had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Hawks, while Jannero Pargo had 15 points and nine assists and Ivan Johnson added 17 points off the bench.

The Hawks have overcome their fair share of adversity and appear to be on the right path.

”I’m real happy about it,” Drew said, ”considering what we’ve gone through this season and looking at the stretches of the road games and the injuries. We’ve weathered a major storm. There’s some games we felt we should’ve won that we let slip through the cracks. But still, looking at where we are and looking at what happened from an injury standpoint, I think we’re very fortunate to be in the position we’re in.”

Said Ivan Johnson: ”We’re already in playoff mode.”

The Hawks broke open the game in the third quarter by shooting 17 of 23 from the field while scoring a season-high 38 points. They won their third straight and remained in second place in the Southeast Division, ahead of the struggling Orlando Magic.

”We’ve faced a lot of adversity and a grueling schedule,” said Josh Smith, who had 15 points. ”We have persevered with a big injury to a major guy who impacts this basketball team in so many ways in Al Horford. We’ve fought through that and guys have come in and stepped up and contributed big minutes.”

The Hawks scored 56 points in the paint and outrebounded the Bobcats 42-31.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 23-19 lead in the first quarter behind nine early points from Byron Mullens, who carried over the momentum early on from his career-high, 31-point effort Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

But the Hawks began to take over in the second quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 29-13 to take a 12-point lead at halftime behind solid play off the bench from Pargo, Ivan Johnson, Marvin Williams and Willie Green. The reserves played so well that Drew stuck with them for the entire second quarter.

”We know we have to get in and get to work real fast so we can get as many minutes as we can,” Ivan Johnson said.

The third quarter again proved to be the undoing for the Bobcats (7-47), who lost their 11th straight.

The Hawks went on a 12-2 run to open the second half to quickly build a 22-point lead. They hit 11 of their first 12 shots from the field in the period, many of those on uncontested layups. The Bobcats fought back to trim the lead to 12 in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t close the gap any further.

Rookie Cory Higgins, the son of Charlotte president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, scored a career-high 22 points for the Bobcats.

”You always want to win but it felt great to get some extended minutes and show what I can do,” Higgins said. ”The next step is trying to get everybody involved at the same point. Once I figure out the right balance, I’ll be all right.”

Higgins saw extended action because starting point guard D.J. Augustin did not play because of a knee ailment.

The Bobcats need to win three of their remaining 12 games to reach the 10-win plateau.

”Cory played well, executed the offense and did a very good job for us tonight,” Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. ”We’re a very young club and not as experienced as that Atlanta club is, but we still tried to hang in there. I’ll give them credit for that.”

NOTES: The Bobcats were without guards Augustin and Reggie Williams, as well as forward Eduardo Najera. Najera had surgery Saturday to repair a frontal bone fracture and Silas says he’s not expected to play for the remainder of the season. … Pargo’s nine assists tied a career high.

On Wednesday, prior to the Hawks vs. Bobcats game, the Atlanta Hawks will host a Career and Internship Fair at Philips Arena.

From 1 to 4 p.m., attendees will have the opportunity to speak with various companies seeking qualified candidates to fill full and part time positions, as well as internships.

In addition to the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena, companies scheduled to participate include the Atlanta Dream, Atlanta Silverbacks, The Home Depot, Verizon Wireless, Waffle House, Aaron’s Inc., and others.

The cost of the fair is $25 per person.

All attendees will receive a complimentary ticket for the game after the job fair.

For more information and to register, click here.

Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV(Meredith Corporation).  All rights reserved.

Elton Brand took over when the host Philadelphia 76ers needed him most.

Brand scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the 76ers to a 95-90 comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

Andre Iguodala scored 18, and Brand had 10 rebounds to go with his 10-for-12 shooting.

Coming off a 21-point loss to lowly Washington on Friday that knocked them out of first place in the Atlantic Division and down to No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers earned a hard-fought win against a team ahead of them in the standings.

“I was having nightmares of 3-13,” coach Doug Collins said, referring to the team’s awful start last year. “I told the guys I want to believe that’s

not who we are, and they showed me tonight that’s not who they are.”

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 34 points.

Spurs 112, Pacers 103: Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds and host San Antonio remained the hottest team in the NBA, beating Indiana for its seventh consecutive win. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili added 18 points apiece. The Spurs are 8-1 since making a rare plunge into midseason moves by adding forwards Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw, giving what Duncan calls the deepest San Antonio bench of his career.

Lakers 88, Hornets 85: As long as there’s time left on the clock, Kobe Bryant can still work wonders even when he’s having a horrible game. Bryant burnished his reputation

as one of the NBA’s greatest closers, hitting a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left after missing his first 15 shots, to help host Los Angeles hold off last-place New Orleans.

“There’s always time to redeem himself,” Jarrett Jack of the Hornets said. “Nobody’s even going to talk about those first three quarters. They’re going to talk about that last shot he made to put his team over the top.”

Clippers 105, Jazz 96: Chris Paul scored 26 points, Blake Griffin added 24

and host Los Angeles beat Utah to win its fifth in a row for the first time since 2006. Randy Foye added 17 points and DeAndre Jordan had 10 rebounds for the surging Clippers, who have won six straight at home and are a game behind the first-place Lakers in the Pacific Division.

Grizzlies 99, Bucks 95: O.J. Mayo scored a season-high 24 points, and Rudy Gay had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead visiting Memphis to a win over Milwaukee.

Marc Gasol added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis, which is in the midst of playing seven games in nine days. The Grizzlies opened the stretch with a 98-89 loss at Houston on Friday.

Knicks 91, Cavaliers 75: J.R. Smith scored 20 points, Carmelo

Anthony had 19, and host New York shook off more bad injury news before beating Cleveland. Already without Amare Stoudemire, the Knicks announced before the game that Jeremy Lin would have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and could miss six weeks.

But the Knicks showed they still may have enough. Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 rebounds for eighth-place New York, which bounced back from a loss in Atlanta on Friday to win for the ninth time in 11 games. The Knicks have won seven in a row at home.

MIAMI (AP) There was a moment in the final seconds where LeBron James was waving his arms, motioning for another sellout Miami Heat crowd to quiet down so Dwyane Wade could shoot free throws in peace.

For much of the game, it was the Atlanta Hawks keeping them quiet – until the Heat perked up just in time.

James had 31 points and 11 rebounds, Wade added 18 points and set up Udonis Haslem for an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left, and the Heat rallied to beat the Hawks 89-86 on Wednesday night.

”We needed one of these games,” James said. ”It’s about time we had one of these games where we had to fight for every minute, all the way down the stretch. … It was good for us to close this game out.”

Miami won its 11th straight at home and had to come from 10 points down in the third quarter to extend that streak. Another Heat streak ended – it was Miami’s first time since April 6, 2006, without making a 3-pointer, a span that included 455 regular-season games and 60 more in the playoffs.

The Heat were 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.

”Sometimes you have to win them ugly,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”And that was ugly there for a while.”

Josh Smith scored 23 for the Hawks, who were without Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady, among others. Jannero Pargo had a look at a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it hit the rim and bounced away.

”He had a decent look at it. It just didn’t go down,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. ”We had an opportunity, but we squandered it away.”

Jeff Teague scored 16 and Jerry Stackhouse added 10 for the Hawks. The Heat only had two players in double figures, with Chris Bosh managing only nine points on a 3 for 14 shooting night.

Pargo’s three-point play with 30.5 seconds left got the Hawks within 85-84, but on the next Miami possession, Wade found Haslem at the rim to push the lead back to three. A layup by Vladimir Radmanovic with just under 4 seconds left got Atlanta within one, but Wade – who also had nine rebounds and six assists – made a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds left, with James asking for quiet.

”We stuck with it until we eventually got the lead,” Wade said. ”And we were able to hold on and get a good win.”

The Hawks twice led by 10 points in the third quarter, the first coming on a 3-pointer by Kirk Hinrich, the other when Smith made a pair of free throws with 4 minutes left to give Atlanta a 65-55 edge.

Then things got heated.

And the Heat needed the boost.

Miami went on top after a 13-0 run, a spurt that really started to roll when Wade stole the ball from Teague, got a pass back from Mario Chalmers and threw down a dunk that went halfway through the net, hit his chest twice as he held on to the goal – then finally fell through the net.

Atlanta turned the ball over four straight times, and not only were the Hawks losing the ball, they were losing their cool. During one scrum, Zaza Pachulia grabbed onto James’ head, earning both a personal foul and a technical foul as players from both sides got testy with one another and even Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton – sitting courtside – feigned wanting to run on the court to join in the fun.

Chalmers and James combined to make two free throws, and the Heat lead was at 68-65.

”I stopped playing football a long time ago,” James said. ”But I still have football traits.”

Wade blocked a 3-point try by Stackhouse with 16 seconds left in the third, Shane Battier swatted away an attempt by Ivan Johnson on the final play of the quarter, and the Hawks scored only six points in a span of 10 minutes, 12 seconds stretching into the fourth quarter.

But when Atlanta snapped out of it, with Teague making two layups in a 21-second span, it was suddenly a game again, with the Heat up only 77-75. Another basket by Teague tied it, and Smith’s 3-pointer with 3:29 left put the Hawks back on top.

”We’re steadily growing each and every day,” Smith said. ”We’re starting to put consistent games together where we’re playing together. We’ve been unselfish. We have to limit our turnovers more, especially down the stretch.”

Miami scored the next six, Haslem’s jumper with just over a minute to go giving the Heat an 83-80 lead.

”They put that team out there as a world-beater,” Stackhouse said. ”We came in here and competing with them just as well as much as anybody else and we felt we should have won the game.”

Notes: James passed Rick Barry for 55th on the NBA’s career scoring list. At his current pace, James would catch No. 50 Isiah Thomas in early April. … Wade, James and Bosh are the first three teammates to all eclipse the 250 field-goal mark this season. … Wade made the 4,000th free throw of his career in the game. … The Hawks led 45-43 at the half, despite Miami being whistled for only two fouls and Atlanta not shooting a single free throw. The Hawks’ first trip to the foul line came with 9:06 left in the third. … Smith tried 12 shots in the first quarter, something only Michael Beasley, Kobe Bryant and DeMarcus Cousins had done this season.

Josh Smith scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and the host Atlanta Hawks snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s seven-game winning streak with a 97-90 victory Saturday night.

Smith, who matched a season high in scoring and pulled down seven of his 12 rebounds in the fourth, had dunks on consecutive possessions to give the Hawks an 87-79 lead with 4:43 remaining.

Then, after forcing Kevin Durant to commit a turnover and pounding his fist against his own chest with 3:04 left, Smith matched Durant’s 3-pointer to put Atlanta up 92-88 at the two-minute mark.

One minute later, Smith drove past Serge Ibaka on the right side and rolled in a left-handed hook to make it 95-90. His efforts helped the

Hawks win their second straight without leading scorer Joe Johnson, who has tendinitis in his left knee.

“I was just real focused,” Smith said. “I wanted to be the guy to try to will us to win this game. I was able to find some cracks in their defense and put the ball in the hole.”

Durant finished with 35 points, and Russell Westbrook had 25 points for Oklahoma City.

Mavericks 102, Jazz 96: Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 40 points and host Dallas beat Utah to snap a four-game losing streak.

Nowitzki scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks turned away a late rally by the Jazz.

Dallas forward Lamar Odom played for the first time after missing four games

because of a family matter and personal reasons. He scored nine points in 18 minutes.

Timberwolves 122, Trail Blazers 110: Kevin Love had 42 points and 10 rebounds, and Minnesota won in Portland, Ore., to snap a 16-game losing streak to the Trail Blazers.

Magic 114, Bucks 98: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead six Orlando players who scored in double figures in the victory over visiting Milwaukee.

The Magic pulled away in the

fourth quarter thanks to some hot 3-point shooting and dominant play from Howard. The Magic shot 51.7 percent (14 of 27) from 3-point range.

Pacers 102, Hornets 84: Danny Granger scored 20 points and Indiana beat host New Orleans for its first six-game winning streak in seven years.

David West had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back in New Orleans after playing the first eight years of his career with the Hornets. Darren Collison had 13 points, including a circus shot at the halftime buzzer.

Grizzlies 100, Pistons 83: O.J. Mayo scored 17 points and sparked a fourth-quarter rally with his 3-point shooting, and Memphis won its fourth straight with a victory

over visiting Detroit.