Horford leads Hawks to 94-91 win over Bobcats
ATLANTA — Al Horford scored 17 points and hit two clinching free throws to help the Atlanta Hawks win their sixth straight game with a 94-91 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.
Josh Smith and Lou Williams also had 17 points apiece for the Hawks.
Ben Gordon finished with 26 points and Ramon Sessions had 18 to lead Charlotte, which has lost two straight and three of four.
Gordon’s straightaway 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining cut Atlanta’s lead to 92-91. The Bobcats got the ball back, but Sessions’ inbounds pass from the left sideline was ruled a turnover after the officials watched replays and concluded neither Gordon nor Smith touched the ball, which bounced out of bounds on the other side of the court with 5.2 seconds to go.
Horford, who finished with 11 rebounds, followed with two free throws 1.1 seconds later. Byron Mullens missed a 3-pointer, with Horford covering him tightly, that would’ve tied the score at the buzzer.
The Bobcats were coming off 114-69 loss — the worst in franchise history — on Monday at Oklahoma City, but they led at the 2:34 mark of the second quarter when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s layup ended an 18-2 run that put Charlotte up 42-35.
By the 7:11 mark of the third, the Hawks led for good after Horford’s three-point play made it 52-51.
Smith, who finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, was the catalyst for most of the third, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting and getting four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Kemba Walker scored 15 points and Brendan Haywood pulled down 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.
NOTES: Hawks G Kyle Korver left with back spasms in the third and didn’t return. ... Bobcats C Bismack Biyombo, returning after missing the last two games with a bruise on his lower left leg, finished with six points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes. ... Hawks G Devin Harris, playing for the first time since spraining his left big toe in last Friday’s win at Charlotte, finished with seven points and four assists.