NBA ROUNDUP : Volkov Shows His Best as Hawks Dodge Bullets

Perhaps it has been culture shock that has kept Alexander Volkov from being the type of player the Atlanta Hawks hoped he would be.

Whatever it was, it seems to be wearing off.

Volkov scored a personal-best 25 points Thursday night to lead the Hawks to a 107-95 victory over the Washington Bullets at Atlanta.

“He keeps getting better and better,” Atlanta Coach Bob Weiss said of his Russian forward, who beat the Golden State Warriors with a basket at the buzzer, ending overtime in Atlanta’s previous game.

Kevin Willis scored 14 of his 22 points in the third quarter when the Hawks took the lead after trailing by 14 points in the opening quarter.

It was the fifth victory in seven games for Atlanta and the seventh consecutive defeat for the Bullets.

“We were low at the start, but it jumped up in the second quarter when we started to play unselfishly,” Volkov said. “After a big win against a big team, we had to beat an average team handily. It was a nice feeling to play like that.”

Atlanta overcame a five-point deficit with an 8-0 run early in the third quarter to take the lead for good, 70-67. Blair Rasmussen, Rumeal Robinson, Willis and Volkov all made baskets in the run.

Willis, who had 16 rebounds, scored eight points in a row and 10 of Atlanta’s last 12 in the third quarter. The Hawks stretched their lead to 103-89 with 1:35 left in the game on Willis’ free throw.

Volkov made 11 of 17 shots in surpassing his previous best by four points. Since becoming a starter seven games ago, Volkov is averaging about 15 points.

Rasmussen made nine of 11 shots for 18 points. Robinson had 10 points and 10 assists.

Ledell Eackles, who had scored 40 and 30 points in his previous two games against Atlanta, scored 28 for the Bullets.

In the first quarter, Eackles scored 12 points and Adams 10 as Washington made 71% of its shots in building a 38-24 lead.

New York 106, Denver 104--Mark Jackson made three free throws in the last 11 seconds and the Knicks got past the Nuggets at Denver after wasting a 19-point lead.

Denver trailed, 83-64, with 2:54 left in the third quarter but rallied to take a 104-103 lead on a three-point basket by Chris Jackson with 22 seconds to play.

Jackson made the first of two free throws with 11 seconds left to tie the score and rebounded his own miss and was fouled with 5.6 seconds to play. Jackson, who had 25 points, made both shots.

Patrick Ewing had 24 points and 14 rebounds for New York. Denver’s Reggie Williams had 27 points.

Portland 128, Sacramento 106--Clyde Drexler scored 20 points and the Trail Blazers pulled away with a 33-18 second quarter at Sacramento.

Mitch Richmond scored 23 points for the Kings, whose three-game winning streak was ended.