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Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) chases down a loose ball with Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews, left, and Ronnie Price during the second half of Monday night’s game in Portland. The Hawks won 95-87.

Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) chases down a loose ball with Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews, left, and Ronnie Price during the second half of Monday night’s game in Portland. The Hawks won 95-87.
Don Ryan / The Associated Press

Losing skid continues as Blazers fall to Hawks

By The Associated Press
Published: November 13. 2012 4:00AM PST

PORTLAND — Josh Smith was sick. It hardly showed.

Fighting a stomach illness, Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double against Portland, and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a two-game skid with a 95-87 win over the Trail Blazers on Monday night.

“It feels good," Smith said. “The crowd is outstanding (in Portland), and I get geared up for games like this."

Kyle Korver added 16 points and Al Horford had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who closed with an 8-0 run. Atlanta was playing the second game of a four-game West Coast swing after losing 89-76 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

“This was a really gutsy win by our guys," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We fell into a similar situation last night in L.A., where we played well for three quarters and then in the fourth quarter collapsed. Tonight we weathered the storm."

J.J. Hickson had 19 points and 18 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum scored 19 points to lead Portland, which dropped its fourth straight. Wesley Matthews had 17 points and made all 10 of his free throws.

Trail Blazers All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 14 points on four-of-13 shooting. He added eight assists, but had just seven points in the first three quarters.

Portland’s run of 195 consecutive home sellouts ended, team president and CEO Chris McGowan announced before the game. The streak dated back to Dec. 21, 2007.

Portland’s bench, outscored 63-4 in a loss to San Antonio on Saturday, struggled again. The Hawks had a 26-6 advantage from their reserves.

The Hawks didn’t show any noticeable effects from playing back-to-back games until midway through the fourth quarter, when the Blazers went on a 15-2 run to go up 82-80 with 5:40 remaining. The game was tied at 87 with 2:38 left, but Horford made a hook shot, Jeff Teague scored on a driving layup and Korver hit two free throws as the Hawks pulled away.

“We knew they were going to go on a run, but it just shows you how this team is a veteran team," Smith said. “We didn’t get rattled, we took our time even when they took the lead, and we figured out a way to score the basketball down the stretch."

In other games on Monday:

Heat 113

Rockets 110

HOUSTON — LeBron James scored a season-high 38 points, Chris Bosh had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Miami rallied to beat Houston.

Celtics 101

Bulls 95

CHICAGO — Rajon Rondo had 20 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists to lead Boston over Chicago.

Jazz 140

Raptors 133

TORONTO — Paul Millsap scored seven of his 34 points in the third overtime, Al Jefferson had 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Utah beat Toronto for its first road win of the season.

Thunder 92

Pistons 90

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 33 points and keyed a fourth-quarter comeback as Oklahoma City rallied to beat winless Detroit.

Bucks 105

76ers 96

PHILADELPHIA — Brandon Jennings scored 33 points and Monta Ellis had 18 to lead Milwaukee past Philadelphia.

Timberwolves 90

Mavericks 82

DALLAS — Nikola Pekovic scored 20 points before leaving with an injury and short-handed Minnesota beat Dallas.

Suns 110

Nuggets 100

PHOENIX — Goran Dragic scored 21 points to lead seven Phoenix players in double figures as the Suns snapped Denver’s four-game winning streak.

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