Hawks 94, Bobcats 91
ATLANTA -- Josh Smith scored 17 points -- 13 of them in the third quarter -- Al Horford scored 17 and the pair pulled down 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively, as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Charlotte Bobcats 94-91 on Wednesday night at Phillips Arena.
Ben Gordon exploded with five 3-point shots in the fourth quarter, including one with 29 seconds left in the game. But Ramon Sessions couldn't inbound the ball successfully with five seconds left.
Lou Williams added 17 points off the bench for the Hawks. Sessions had 18 points and eight assists for the Bobcats.
The Hawks nailed three 3-point shots to go up 9-2 in the first three minutes, but the Bobcats withstood the Hawks' early surge. Kemba Walker's 3-pointer tied the game 18-18 with 25 seconds left in the opening quarter. Anthony Morrow's 20-foot jumper just before the buzzer put the Hawks up 20-18.
Byron Mullins's nine points sparked the Bobcats to a 16-2 run in the second quarter. Sessions scored 11 first-half points off the bench, and the Bobcats led 45-43 at the break despite the Hawks' eight 3-point shots.
NOTES: Hawks coach Larry Drew is concerned that his team might become complacent being at home for five games over 15 days. Wednesday's game was the second of the five and the first game the Hawks played since beating the Clippers on Saturday. ... Drew was especially on guard against the Hawks overlooking the new-look Bobcats, saying, "It's almost got to be a playoff mentality against this team." ... Hawks guard Devin Harris missed a second straight start with a sore left big toe, the result of a hard plant in last Friday's game against the Bobcats in Charlotte. DeShawn Stevenson got the start, and Harris took the floor to start the second quarter. ... Bobcats first-year coach Mike Dunlap's priority going into the game was not allowing the Hawks to get 50 points in the paint as they did Friday. ... Charlotte forward Bismack Biyombo spent the pregame period on the training table getting treatment on his left leg contusion, which kept him out of the previous two games. He entered the game in the middle of the first quarter. ... Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson remains out with a sprained left ankle. He has played in only two games this season. ... The Bobcats entered the night 6-0 this season in games decided by four points or fewer.
