Slumping Hawks React by Firing Kruger

Atlanta Hawk General Manager Pete Babcock tried to talk himself out of firing his coach, but another lackluster effort by the team earlier in the week sealed Lon Kruger’s fate.

Kruger was fired Thursday by the slumping Hawks, three days after the team lost by 15 points at Indiana. That was part of six losses in seven games, with all six by at least 10 points.

“We just fell back into a poor effort,” Babcock said. “I didn’t want to make a change on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and I tried to convince myself it still could work.

“But we’re not maximizing our potential, and we needed to do this.”

Assistant Terry Stotts will take Kruger’s spot, and Alex English was promoted from director of player development to assistant coach.

Gar Heard, who joined the Hawks as an assistant shortly after Kruger was hired in 2000, also was dismissed. Atlanta is 11-16 this season.

The news came hours after the Atlanta Thrashers, a team also owned by AOL Time Warner Inc., fired coach Curt Fraser. Stan Kasten, president of both teams, said the timing was coincidental.

“I guess when you talk about wins and losses, we haven’t gotten the job done, and so it didn’t really come as a surprise,” Kruger said.

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Washington Wizard forward Jared Jeffries will sit out the rest of his rookie season after tearing a ligament in his right knee. Jeffries was averaging 4.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 15 minutes a game.... Sacramento King guard Bobby Jackson will be sidelined for about six weeks with a broken left hand after injuring it Wednesday against the Lakers.

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Dallas 83, New Orleans 81 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points at New Orleans, and the Maverick defense was again good enough to overcome one of its lowest-scoring outputs of the season. The Mavericks shot 37.8% and failed to surpass 92 points for the fourth straight game.

Seattle 97, Toronto 88 -- Gary Payton scored 35 points at Seattle -- including 10 in a row to help his team take a comfortable lead -- and the SuperSonics ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Raptors.

Detroit 87, Washington 82 -- Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in his return to Washington, and the Pistons held the Wizards to 33 points in the second half to end a two-game losing streak.