LeBron's 24 Push Heat Past Hawks, 103-90
ATLANTA (AP) — Miami scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter to erase Atlanta's 10-point lead and the Heat, led by LeBron James' 24 points, beat the Hawks 103-90 on Wednesday night to extend their season-best winning streak to eight games.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points and Shane Battier had 17, hitting three 3-pointers in the final period. James had 11 assists and six rebounds but could not extend his franchise-record streak of seven straight games with at least 30 points.
Miami outscored Atlanta 40-17 in the final period after trailing 73-63 through three quarters.
Al Horford led the Hawks with 27 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Korver had 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
Josh Smith had 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in what could be his final game with the Hawks. Smith has been one of the league's most prominent names in reports leading to Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.
The Heat are 3-0 against the Hawks this season and have won six straight in the series.
After trailing 43-38, the Hawks took the lead with an 11-0 run, capped by a three-point play by Devin Harris with 4.3 seconds remaining in the first half. James then launched a buzzer-beating jumper over Horford to cut Atlanta's halftime lead to 49-45. Following a review, officials ruled the shot was not a 3-pointer.
The Heat trailed only 57-56 early in the third period before the Hawks stretched the lead with 10 straight points. Korver had two 3-pointers before Smith's two-handed jam capped the run, giving Atlanta its biggest lead at 67-56.
Ray Allen, who had a three-point play after Battier's first 3-pointer of the fourth quarter, gave Miamiits first lead of the second half at 74-73 with a layup. Two free throws by James capped the 13-0 run.
Allen had 15 points and Mario Chalmers had 14.
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