Spurs Surprised as the Hawks Soar

No one could have seen this coming.

The defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs had won 17 of their last 18 games. The lowly Atlanta Hawks were coming off three straight embarrassing defeats.

But the roles were reversed Tuesday night as Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 29 points and the Hawks built a big lead over San Antonio and held on for a surprising 86-77 victory at Atlanta.

“It only takes one win to turn the season around,” said Stephen Jackson, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and a career-high-tying seven assists against his former team in perhaps his best game of the season. “This could be that win.”

“This is the first game we played for each other. We helped on defense. We shared the ball. We played like a good team tonight.”

Atlanta took control with a 14-0 run encompassing the final basket of the first quarter and the first 12 points of the second. The Hawks led by as many as 21 points before settling for a 49-32 lead at halftime.

The Spurs cut it to 75-73 with 2:23 left but could get no closer.

Tim Duncan carried much of the load for the Spurs, shooting 11 for 22 from the field for 28 points. The rest of the team shot only 15 of 57, leaving the Spurs at 26 of 79 (32.9%) overall.

Minnesota 94, New Orleans 89 -- Latrell Sprewell scored 26 points, including a pair of key free throws with 14 seconds left, to culminate a comeback at New Orleans.

Minnesota, winning for the 15th time in its last 18 games, trailed by 10 points entering the final quarter.

Baron Davis had 22 points for New Orleans, which lost its third in a row.

Denver 105, Phoenix 92 -- Voshon Lenard scored 32 points as the Nuggets led by as many as 32 in a victory at Phoenix. Amare Stoudemire had 28 points for the Suns, who lost their sixth in a row and fell to 0-4 since the trade that sent Stephon Marbury to New York.

Sacramento 90, Miami 86 -- Peja Stojakovic had 24 points, and Mike Bibby made a three-point basket with 18 seconds left as the Kings beat an Eastern Conference opponent at Arco Arena for the 27th straight time. Lamar Odom had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Miami.

Houston 93, Washington 80 -- Yao Ming scored 14 of his 21 points in the third quarter at Washington as the Rockets broke open a close game with a 14-3 run midway through the fourth quarter. Larry Hughes had 23 points for the Wizards, who have lost 10 of their last 12.

Milwaukee 111, Boston 103 -- Michael Redd had 20 points at Milwaukee as the Bucks won for the sixth time in their last seven games. Ricky Davis came off the bench to score a season-high 33 points for Boston, which didn’t play Vin Baker in his first game after a three-game club-imposed suspension.

Detroit 105, Chicago 89 -- Richard Hamilton had 24 points at Chicago, and the Pistons went on a 22-7 fourth-quarter run to win their ninth straight game. Kirk Hinrich had 19 points and 12 assists for the Bulls.

Cleveland 104, Seattle 96 -- LeBron James scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, sparking a 10-0 run that led the Cavaliers at Seattle. Ray Allen scored 25 points for Seattle.

Utah 97, Golden State 80 -- Andrei Kirilenko had 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots at Salt Lake City. Raja Bell led the Jazz in scoring with 15 points. Clifford Robinson led Golden State with 23 points.