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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Smith leads Atlanta past Golden State 95-79

AP, OAKLAND, Calif: Josh Smith scored 26 points, Al Horford had 22 points and 12 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors 95-79 on Friday night.

Joe Johnson added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Hawks (35-23), who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time since the All-Star break.

David Lee had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Monta Ellis scored 16 for Golden State (26-31).

Atlanta was mired in one of its biggest slumps of the season and had fallen eight games behind Miami in the Southeast Division. Coach Larry Drew criticized his team's shot selection during the slump but it wasn't an issue against Golden State.

The Hawks shot nearly 48 percent from the floor (40 of 84), outrebounded the Warriors 49-34 and led by as much as 29 while winning for the first time since Feb. 14. Atlanta had dropped five of six overall.

Three days after scoring just 33 points in the second half against Boston, Golden State shot poorly, committed 16 turnovers and looked out of sync all night in its final home game before a seven-game road trip.

Atlanta built a 29-point lead in the third quarter then cruised the rest of the way while handing Golden State its second straight lopsided loss at home. Fans poured out of the arena with more than 8 minutes left and the Warriors trailing 85-62.

The Hawks remained 1 1/2 games back of Orlando for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Magic beat Oklahoma City 111-88 on Friday night.

The Warriors still cling to their own postseason hopes but they definitely didn't play like it.

The Hawks nearly turned the game into a blowout before halftime, building a 19-point lead early in the second quarter. But Ellis, held to 15 points in a 115-93 loss to Boston on Tuesday, kept Golden State afloat with 10 straight points, including a pair of free throws that helped the Warriors close to 40-31.

Not much went right for Golden State after that.

Johnson scored on an up-and-under move, then fed Marvin Williams down low for an easy bucket. He also picked the ball from Stephen Curry in the final seconds and raced downcourt for a layup just before the buzzer to give the Hawks a 55-35 halftime lead.

Things were going so well for Atlanta that newcomer Kirk Hinrich made a 3-pointer in the second quarter less than five seconds after checking into his first game for the Hawks. Hinrich arrived as part of a five-player trade with Washington on Wednesday.

NOTES: The Warriors re-signed F Jeff Adrien to a 10-day contract. Adrien, who appeared in 15 games for Golden State earlier this season, had been in the NBA Development League. The move comes after the Warriors traded F Brandan Wright and C Dan Gadzuric to New Jersey earlier this week for Troy Murphy and a second-round pick. ... The Hawks have won three straight overall against Golden State. ... The Warriors honored members of their 1974-75 NBA championship team during halftime.

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