NBA ROUNDUP : Mavericks Come Close, but Lose to Hawks, 90-85

The Atlanta Hawks were tired Monday night, but not tired enough to lose to the hapless Dallas Mavericks.

Dominique Wilkins scored 14 of his 24 points during a 36-19 third-quarter charge as the Hawks, playing for the fifth time in seven days, overcame a sluggish start to hold off the Mavericks, 90-85, at Dallas.

“You tell guys to keep focused, but there’s always that tendency to concentrate on their record,” Hawk Coach Lenny Wilkens said. “Dallas is playing with enthusiasm and pride right now, but it’s hard to convince your players of that.”

The Mavericks, who snapped a league-record 19-game home losing streak Saturday night with a victory over the Sacramento Kings, gave the Hawks a scare as Doug Smith scored a season-high 22 points.

Dallas had a 11-2 rally to close to 88-85 with 47 seconds to play, but Jamal Mashburn missed a three-pointer that would have tied the score with three seconds left.

Mookie Blaylock’s two free throws with 0.9 seconds left sealed the victory for the Hawks, who trailed by six points at halftime.

“Close doesn’t count,” the Mavericks’ Jim Jackson said. “You’ve got to finish it off. We had some breaks down the stretch, but we didn’t take advantage.”

Cleveland 107, Detroit 103--Mark Price scored six points down the stretch as the Cavaliers handed the Pistons their 10th consecutive home loss, which ties the club record.

Pistons, 5-17 at the Palace at Auburn Hills, Mich., have lost 20 of their last 21 overall and six in a row. Their last victory at home was in overtime, 98-92, over Cleveland on Dec. 18.

Larry Nance had 20 points for the Cavaliers, who are 7-14 on the road but have won three of their last four there.

Joe Dumars scored 29 points for the Pistons. Isiah Thomas had 22.

Early in the third quarter, Price and Thomas collided, knocking Price dizzy. But he was able to come back and deliver the knockout punch.

“That’s what he does,” Cleveland Coach Mike Fratello said. “Mark gets battered and banged around, but he just keeps going.”