NBA

Hawks rally for unlikely victory

ATLANTA - The league's longest losing streak and second-longest winning streak came to unlikely ends Saturday night when Atlanta beat San Antonio 94-84 to deny the Spurs their best 20-game start in franchise history.

The Hawks snapped their seven-game losing streak, winning for the third time this season and the first time since Nov. 25. The Spurs saw their six-game winning streak end.

The defending NBA champion Spurs were denied their first 17-3 start. They also were 16-4 after 20 games last season.

The Spurs have the most wins in the NBA, and the Hawks (3-16) had the league's worst record and have heard increased speculation about the future of coach Mike Woodson. But the Hawks enjoyed a rare highlight, taking the lead in the fourth quarter and then pulling away late.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 22 points, and Zaza Pachulia added 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 20 points, Manu Ginobili added 17 and Bruce Bowen had 13.

"We've had games early in the season when we were leading down the stretch," said Atlanta's Josh Childress, who scored 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter. "This is a game we finished. We got the shots we wanted."

76ERS 107, NETS 95: Allen Iverson scored 42 and Kyle Korver added 25 to help Philadelphia in the first game of the season between the top two teams in the Atlantic.

A night after combining for 69 points in a 119-115 win over Charlotte, Korver and Iverson shot 25-for-39 from the field. The 76ers shot 57 percent overall to win their second game in a row after losing four straight.

PACERS 80, GRIZZLIES 66: Jermaine O'Neal had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Stephen Jackson added 16 points and Jeff Foster gave Indiana a huge lift off the bench with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Jackson, coming off a season-high 30 points against Washington on Thursday night, played fewer than 10 minutes and had three fouls in the first half, when the Pacers took an early lead but didn't take control for good until Foster entered the game.

Pacers forward Ron Artest was inactive, the second straight game he has missed because of a sore right wrist. Also, guard Jamaal Tinsley was inactive for the fifth straight game because of a strained left quadriceps.

TIMBERWOLVES 95, LAKERS 82: Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 30, Wally Szczerbiak added 25 and host Minnesota won its fifth straight to stop Los Angeles' streak at four. Marko Jaric had 12 points and a season-best nine assists for the Timberwolves, who never trailed and have beaten the Lakers three times this season.

BUCKS 111, CAVALIERS 106: LeBron James scored an NBA season-high 52, but T.J. Ford tied his career high with 24 and Michael Redd added 23 for host Milwaukee. The 20-year-old James was 19-for-29 from the floor, including 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, and 9-for-10 from the line. He fell four points short of his career high of 56.

MAVERICKS 103, CELTICS 94: Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and nine rebounds, Devin Harris added 19 points and host Dallas stretched its win streak to five. Adrian Griffin added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Marquis Daniels had 15 points for the Mavericks, who've won 12 of the last 14 meetings with the Celtics.

BULLS 118, WIZARDS 111: Chris Duhon scored all of his 24 points in the second half, Kirk Hinrich had 22 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, and visiting Chicago rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Bulls ended the game with a 16-0 run.

RAPTORS 111, BOBCATS 103: Chris Bosh had 30 points and 11 rebounds and visiting Toronto handed Charlotte its seventh straight loss.

SONICS: Forward Danny Fortson was suspended for one game by the league for verbally abusing an official and not leaving the court in a timely manner after an ejection Friday against Utah.

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]