Hawks beat Heat in a doubleheader

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks were feeling a lot better about their playoff chances after two wins in less than three hours.

Taking a page from baseball, the Hawks played a doubleheader of sorts against the Miami Heat on Saturday night, finishing off the last 51.9 seconds of a disputed game from December before their regularly scheduled contest.

Atlanta, battling for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, held off the hapless Heat, 114-111 in overtime, to start the evening. After a 15-minute break, Joe Johnson matched a season high with 39 points and the Hawks held on in another nailbiter, 97-94.

“My heart was jumping,” Atlanta rookie Al Horford said. “But we’ll take the two wins. We’re back in the playoff race. Hopefully this will give us some momentum.”

The replay was ordered by the NBA, which upheld Miami’s protest of a 117-111 loss to the Hawks on Dec. 19. The Atlanta stat crew mistakenly ruled Shaquille O’Neal had fouled out in the extra period, when he actually had only five fouls.

O’Neal wasn’t around for the league’s first do-over in a quarter-century, having been traded to Phoenix last month.

Around the league

Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace, sidelined since being knocked unconscious in a game Feb. 22, might return as soon as Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks at Dallas.

From the Associated Press