NBA: Howard shines as Hawks halt skid

Dwight Howard #8 of the Atlanta Hawks grabs a rebound against Willie Reed #35 of the Miami Heat at Philips Arena on December 7, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP

Dwight Howard scored 23 points and pulled down 17 rebounds Wednesday to help the Atlanta Hawks end their seven-game NBA losing streak with a 103-95 victory over the Miami Heat.

“It was good to get the monkey off our backs, but we’ve got to keep working,” said Howard, who connected on nine of 11 shots from the floor and made five of six from the free-throw line.

Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and he added four assists and two blocked shots for good measure.

Defensively, Howard helped limit Miami’s Hassan Whiteside to just eight points — 10 fewer than his season average.

The Hawks also got 21 points and nine rebounds from forward Paul Millsap and 17 points and seven assists from Dennis Schroder.

Thabo Sefolosha contributed 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The victory stopped the rot, at least temporarily, for a team that started strong this season but had lost 10 of their last 11 games.

“It’s not fun,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. “This group has a lot of pride and you need to win a game at some point. I still feel like we can get better.”

Howard, a three-time defensive player of the year who was acquired in the offseason by his hometown team, said the Hawks have plenty of time to recover their losses this season.

“Every team has that bump in the road. I’d rather have that bump now than later in the season. Now we’ve got a chance to get some good wins.”