Hawks halt Thunder roll
WASHINGTON – The short-handed Atlanta Hawks defeated NBA-leading Oklahoma City 97-90 on Saturday, snapping the Thunder’s seven-game winning streak.
Josh Smith scored 30 points with 12 rebounds for Atlanta, delivering the big game the Hawks needed as they coped with the absence of leading scorer Joe Johnson and reserve guard Willie Green.
“We were able to compete at a very high level against probably the best team in the league,” said Atlanta coach Larry Drew, whose team also lost Tracy McGrady to a knee injury in the first quarter.
“I thought our guys did a phenomenal job and just competing given what the situation was. I take my hat off to every guy in the locker room.”
Atlanta surrendered a double-digit lead late in the third quarter, but they opened the fourth with an 11-4 scoring run.
With less than five minutes to play the Hawks led 87-79, but the Thunder – who came into the game with a league-leading 29-7 record – pulled within one before the Hawks turned them back.
Smith drained a three-pointer with 2:01 to play to make it 92-88. With a minute left a Smith basket stretched Atlanta’s lead to 95-90.
Kevin Durant, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, finished with a game-high 35 points for the Thunder and Russell Westbrook added 25.
