Al Horford had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, including six straight points late in the game to fend off a comeback attempt by New Jersey. Josh Smith added 22 points for the Hawks, who are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Atlanta lost five-time All-Star guard Joe Johnson with a strained right thumb in the third quarter. He returned to the bench after having X-rays, but did not return to the game. He didn’t leave with the team Saturday night for Sunday’s game at Cleveland.
Anthony Morrow had 25 points for the Nets, who have lost six of seven.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Boris Diaw scored 20 points, Stephen Jackson added 19 despite a sore hamstring, and the Charlotte Bobcats provided more misery for the slumping New York Knicks with a victory to complete an impressive two-day stretch.
A night after a stunning comeback win in Boston, the Bobcats sent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss despite 36 points from Carmelo Anthony to remain in contention for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Bobcats built a 20-point third-quarter lead and withstood an Anthony-fueled rally that got New York within 110-106 with 1:34 left. The Knicks didn’t score again to fall to 7-12 since acquiring Anthony and Chauncey Billups last month.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 23 points, and the Detroit Pistons held off the Indiana Pacers.
The Pistons went on a 21-3 run during the third quarter to take an 18-point lead. But, the Pacers, who are fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, cut the lead to six in the fourth quarter.
Hamilton then drove for an easy layup, and made a nice pass to Rodney Stuckey for a layup to make it 90-80.
Brandon Rush scored 19 points for the Pacers.
In Salt Lake City, reserve Jason Terry scored five of his 22 points in a 13-0 fourth-quarter run to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 94-77 victory Saturday night over Utah and hand the slumping Jazz their fifth straight loss.
The win gave the Mavs their first series sweep of the Jazz since the 2004-2005 season.
Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and ran his consecutive free throw mark to 72.
The Jazz took a 60-58 lead into the fourth quarter, and led 70-68 with 6:21 left on Raja Bell’s 20-foot jumper. But the Mavs went on a 13-0 run.
In Milwaukee, Derrick Rose hit three straight shots in the final two minutes, rallying the Chicago Bulls to a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rose scored 30 points and had 17 assists, and nearly single-handedly brought the Bulls from behind with the clock winding down.
With Chicago trailing 87-83, Rose hit a pair of free throws, then fed Joakim Noah for a fast-break dunk to tie it. Rose then hit three straight shots for the Bulls, and handed off to Ronnie Brewer for a fast-break layup.
John Salmons scored 25 and Carlos Delfino added 23 for the Bucks, who are scrambling to make the playoffs.
In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Chris Kaman added 17 points and 12 boards, and the Los Angeles Clippers handed the Toronto Raptors their fourth straight loss.
The Clippers had lost their previous five meetings with the Raptors by an average of 17.4 points. Eric Gordon, who missed his first 11 shots in Friday’s 112-104 loss to the Lakers, had 17 points after getting into early foul trouble, and Mo Williams finished with just nine points after scoring a season-high 30 against the two-time defending champions.
Ed Davis had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who ended a 1-4 road trip in which they fell behind by more than 40 points to both Denver and Golden State.
