Atlanta Hawks (84) at Dallas Mavericks (97)
ATL (15-13), DALL (20-11)

Scoring by Quarters
ATL -- 21/14/25/24 - 84
DALL -- 34/20/21/22 - 97

Individual Leaders
Scoring
ATL - M Williams 18
DALL - Nowitzki 22

Rebounds
ATL - 39 (Horford 10)
DALL - 44 (Dampier 10)

Assists
ATL - 12 (J. Johnson 5)
DALL - 19 (Nowitzki 5)

-- The Hawks saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon in Dallas, 97-84.

-- The Mavericks scored the first 12 points of the game, the Hawks recovered to pull to within 40-31, but the Mavs ended the half with a 14-4 run to move ahead 54-35 at the half ... Atlanta edged closer in the third, outscoring Dallas 25-21 ... The Hawks kept scrapping, eventually trimming the lead down to six late (82-76), but couldn't get closer.

-- In his first pro game in his hometown, Acie Law scored a career-best 12 points and recorded 3 steals.

-- Al Horford (11 pts/10 rebs) recorded his fourth double-double of the season.

-- After not recording a blocked shot in 2 of the last 3 games, Josh Smith rejected 6 today, and added 3 steals.

-- The Hawks still finished the month at 9-4, their best December since 1993-94, and the most wins in any month since March, 2002 ... Last season, Atlanta went 3-13 in December.

-- The Hawks have lost four straight in Dallas, and 9-of-the-last-10.

-- The Hawks don't play until Wednesday, when they begin a two-game road trip in Cleveland (7 p.m., FSN South HD, 790 The Zone), before heading to Indiana to face the Pacers on Friday (7 p.m., FSN South, 790 The Zone).

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Checking in from the lovely beachfront that is Gulf Shores, Alabama (that's right kids, it's right near Florabama).

I wasn't able to watch the win over Indiana last night because the condo we are staying at lacks FSN, but I listened to most of it on the radio.

Here is the biggest thing I took away from the game, the Hawks fifth straight win - confidence is contagious. When the team is winning, everyone starts to play better. The coaches coach better. And the fans...root better?

That probably didn't make much sense, but I'll elaborate a little. Last night the Hawks got out to a decent lead in the third quarter, but allowed Indiana back into it and saw the score tied at 80-80 late in the period.

Before we started this little run (8 of 10, if anyone's counting), a comeback by the Pacers would have made me nervous and dreading the thought of another lost lead and another frustrating loss. But I have confidence now, just like the players do, that they can weather the storm and still assert themselves before all is said and done.

That's exactly what the Hawks did last night, going on a 12-0 run to put the game out of reach before winning 107-95.

It's a wonderful feeling, and obviously one everyone associated with the franchise has been waiting a long time to experience.

Of course, as Joe Johnson keeps hammering home to his teammates, this ain't over. No time to rest on your laurels, not with a three-game road trip starting Saturday afternoon in Dallas.

But I will still take this time to enjoy the fact that the Hawks are winning, a lot, and frankly, it doesn't surprise me anymore. And that in and of itself is a great feeling.

Update: When you win, people start to pay attention to you. I just saw this on TrueHoop, Henry Abbot's NBA blog over on ESPN.com, where Brian Windhorst wrote about Marvin Williams' blossoming career.

It's a pretty nice little shout out for Marv, who continues to shine in his third NBA season. Check it out.

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Atlanta Hawks (97) at Washington Wizards (92)
ATL (14-12), WASH (13-12)

Scoring by Quarters
ATL - 25/20/23/29 -- 97
WASH - 21/26/20/25 -- 92

Individual Leaders
ATL - J. Johnson 32
WASH - Jamison 30

Rebounds
ATL - 49 (Smith 14)
WASH - 33 (Jamison 9)

Assists
ATL - 24 (A. Johnson/J. Johnson 8)
WASH - 14 (Butler/Stevenson 4)

-- The Atlanta Hawks won their fourth straight, and seventh-of-nine overall (fifth-of-seven on the road), after a 97-92 victory at Washington on Friday. The win moves the Hawks two games above the .500 mark.

-- Atlanta had lost seven straight in D.C., last winning on 12/30/03.

-- Joe Johnson scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, while Marvin Williams added 22 points, Josh Smith contributed 16 points and 14 boards (his team-high 7th double-double) and Al Horford had 13.

-- Marvin Williams' effort was his 4th straight of 20-or-more, and fifth in the last six.

-- Anthony Johnson dished out 8 more assists tonight, and has 38 in his last four games.

-- After missing 6-of-the-last-7 games with a right groin strain, Josh Childress returned with a season-high 11 rebounds off the bench.

-- Atlanta set the tone early, recording an assist on each of their first 13 field goals, and finished with 24 ... The Hawks enjoyed a 49-33 advantage on the glass.

-- The Hawks' record on Christmas the last three years was 9-17 (2006-07), 7-18 (2005-06) and 5-20 (2004-05).

-- The Hawks don't play again until Wednesday (Dec. 26), when Indiana comes to Philips Arena (7 p.m., FSN South HD, 790 The Zone).

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I feel the need to start every blog post with the caveat saying that there is a LOT of basketball left to play. I realize it, the players realize it, etc.

Having said that...big game tonight at Washington. The Hawks are just a half-game behind the Wizards for second place in the division, and a win would help them start climbing the ladder in the East (as would a win next Wednesday over Indiana).

Looking at the Eastern Conference, I'm really thinking the Hawks need to finish no lower than 6th. I don't like our chances, at present, in a seven-game series against Boston or Detroit. But that aside, I think we could fare pretty well against the rest of the contenders. That's why its so important to win division and conference games - with so many teams bunched together right now, you want as many tie-breaking edges as you can get. Atlanta has played very well within the division so far, sporting a Southeast-best 5-1 mark. Their only blemish is a loss to Washington earlier this year, which makes tonight's game all that much more important. A Wizards win gives them no worse than a push on the season series, while a Hawks win ensures that they'll have the advantage when they play again at Philips on January 11.

The schedule slows down a bit for the next couple weeks over the holidays (only five games spread over the next two weeks), which benefits the Hawks about as much as any team in the league right now. Hopefully it will give Chills, T-Lue, Acie, and AJ a chance to rest their bodies. Atlanta has been very impressive beating the likes of Utah and Miami of late despite being shorthanded, but that can only last so long. We can't afford to have Joe Johnson playing 53 minutes a night - there are just too many games on the schedule.

Washington has been playing surprisingly well, but they are a beatable team. A win tonight and people are going to start paying more attention to the Hawks (seven wins in nine games tends to do that), but they are going to have to maintain the high level of play we've seen from them in the last few games.

On another note, the posting may be lighter around these parts over the next several days as I am headed on a little family vacation. But I'll make sure to weigh in if anything big goes down.

Catch the Hawks tonight at 7:00 ET on SportSouth, and let's see if we can't start putting more distance between ourselves and .500.

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Man, what a win last night at Philips Arena. As I said in Everything You Need To Know, I don't think this is a game we would have won in the past few years. We were the better team last night, but the calls seemed to be going against us (!), and when the Heat took the lead late in regulation and overtime, the Hawks we used to know would have folded and that would have been that.

But these Hawks are new. They played well almost the entire evening (except for the offensive execution towards the end of regulation - that has GOT to improve), and didn't show any of the malaise of a team too busy patting itself on the back for Monday's win to notice another opponent was in the building.

If Joe Johnson wants to make the All-Star team, the Hawks need to send footage of his game last night to the Eastern Conference coaches, because that's exactly what he played like last night. Though his touch from long range was mysteriously missing, JJ repeatedly took the ball into the paint for layups and runners, including the game-winning points with just over a minute left in overtime. But of course, JJ didn't win this game by himself. For the second straight game, everyone who played contributed in a meaningful way. But Joe was the catalyst, and in talking to him today, you could tell how badly he wanted to win the game.

The Hawks have started to do what everyone says is the first key to making the playoffs - they are protecting their home court. The team is 5-2 at home in December, and appear to only be getting stronger (they've already clinched a winning record for the month with three games left to play, a small but not insignificant achievement). If they can keep picking up road wins here and there (starting in Washington tomorrow night would be nice), we could see them start to move away from the bottom of the pack and more towards the top.

Lastly, I again want to wish all the best to Alonzo Mourning on a speedy recovery. Watching him waive off the stretcher last night to leave under his own power (aided by his teammates) gave me chills. He has been one of the most passionate competitors the league has ever seen, and many of today's players would do well to emulate him in that respect. Get better, Zo.

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I was thinking about this today. Most people complain that the NBA season is too long; with 82 games, how can you get up for every single one? Wins and losses, because there is the opportunity for so many of either, don't have a ton of meaning on a game to game basis.

Maybe that is the case with the Spurs, or Mavericks, or the teams that know their postseason fate has already been decided. But I will tell you this - following the Hawks feels like following a college team - every game feels important to me. I realized this today because I was thinking about how huge Monday's win over the Jazz was, and it got me to realizing that actually, tonight's game against the Heat is really important as well. We know the Hawks are capable of beating any team in the league (well, maybe not the Pistons). We've seen that in wins over Phoenix, Dallas, etc. But if this team wants to make the playoffs, they've got to do what good teams do - string together some winning streaks.

In the past, the Hawks have frustrated us by winning a big game (say, the road win over Orlando), but following it up with a momentum-stopping loss (say, the following loss to Toronto). So we find ourselves again in a situation where, on a two-game winning streak and coming off a big win, the Hawks can make a statement with a victory against Dwyane Wade and the Heat. It's as big a game as you can have against a squad that enters with a 7-17 record.

In talking to Hawks assistant David Fizdale today in our Breaking Down The Heat segment, I definitely get the sense that the coaching staff realizes how big tonight's game is. He wants to beat Miami bad.

The question we'll get the answer to tonight is, do the players feel the same way?

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What a win. Yes, I know, we almost gave it away at the end with a sudden case of missed free throw-itis, but in a month no one will remember that - they'll only remember that the Hawks went toe-to-toe with a team that had beaten them nine straight times and came away with a win.

There were so many things to be happy about from last night, and I mentioned many of them in Everything You Need To Know, but here is a short list of what I loved:

- Al Horford's emerging offensive game
- Anthony Johnson's 14-assist, 3-turnover virtuoso performance
- Mario West hitting, I believe, his first jumper of the season
- Marvin Williams taking it repeatedly to the hole
-  Joe Johnson reasserting himself as the team's top dog
- The fact that we outrebounded the Jazz, 38-32, and pulled down almost as many offensive boards (14) as Utah had defensive (16)
- We did all of this without the services of Josh Childress, Tyronn Lue, Speedy Claxton, Acie Law, Salim Stoudamire, and Lorenzen Wright

The overall thing I take away from last night is this: the Jazz played, all things considered, a pretty good game. They played at their pace, did all the things they typically like to do, and yet the Hawks came away with a win. In my mind, last night's win erases two losses - the fourth quarter meltdown against the Jazz from last year that sent the season into a tailspin, and the double-OT loss to Seattle back on November 16. Assume we should have won that game and probably would expect to lose to Utah, and I think we've done just about what has been expected of us so far.

I talked to both Joe and AJ after practice today (where, needless to say, spirits were high), and they both agreed last night was a big night. I asked Joe about erasing the memories of last year, and AJ talked about where this game ranks amongst his personal best performances.

The guys are definitely enjoying the fruits of last night's win, and I am too - and if we can keep it up and beat Miami on Wednesday, I'll feel even better.

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Things went about as I expected for the Hawks this weekend. A predictable loss to Detroit on Friday, but an inspired victory over Charlotte on Saturday that finally earned the Hawks at least a split on the season-series with their division nemesis.

The Hawks have three games on the slate for this week, and all will be tough, especially with the spate of injuries of late. When you step back and look at it, it's kind of amazing, really - we had too many point guards on the roster (or point-guard-ish types like Salim Stoudamire and Mario West) to start, and now we don't have enough. How is that possible?

The Jazz are here tonight, owners of nine straight wins against the Hawks. It was just a year ago (almost to the day - last Dec. 20) that the Hawks suffered arguably the most devastating loss of the entire season against Utah, blowing a 21-point lead entering the fourth quarter to lose 112-106. I for one still remember the sickness I felt in my stomach as I walked out of Philips that night. We owe Utah for that one. Owe them.

But it won't be easy tonight. As Bob Bender mentioned in our Breaking Down The Jazz segment today (sorry, no video today - you will have to settle for my melodious voice without my handsome good looks), the Jazz have beaten us in the past because they are very good at dictating tempo and forcing teams to play at their pace and style. To break the streak, the Hawks are going to have to man up and keep the Jazz from knocking them around.

Though the Hawks are shorthanded, the Jazz too will be missing a key player as Mehmet Okur is expected to sit out with a shoulder injury. Okur was particularly destructive last year, hitting several key shots in leading the Jazz comeback. Without him drawing the interior defense outside with his superior perimeter shooting, Atlanta should be able to commit more resources to keeping Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap from hurting them inside. Our backcourt may be short, but at least all our bigs are healthy and ready to rumble.

It's going to be a tough one, no doubt. But the Jazz have lost six of seven, so if there were ever a time to catch them in a lull, this may be it.

Come out tonight to cheer the Hawks on as they try to get back to .500.

See you there!

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I'm not going to lie - the Hawks have their work cut out for themselves tonight in Detroit. Facing a Pistons team that manhandled them at Philips a couple weeks ago and beat them (controversially, I might add) during the season's opening weekend as well, the team will need to play at its highest level if they want to come away with a win.

That in itself is going to be tough, especially considering Al Horford is out due to suspension, Josh Childress is out with a strained groin, and T-Lue is still out as well. Zaza Pachulia will be back, but since it's his first game back after missing 5 straight dealing with a concussion I don't know how much we can expect from him either.

Honestly? I'm willing to give the team a pass in advance tonight, provided they come home and take care of business tomorrow night against Charlotte.

I'm not saying the team shouldn't try to compete tonight, I'm just saying that in the grand scheme of things, if I had to choose one leg of a back-to-back to focus on, I'd take Charlotte here every time.

Don't get me wrong, I want to beat Detroit. We got hosed against them in the Motor City, and they whupped us but good at Philips. But let's be honest - it's Detroit. At this point, they are supposed to beat us.

Charlotte on the other hand - well, we all know how badly I want to beat them this year (and if you don't, I will reiterate - I really want to beat Charlotte this year). We got the first one in pretty good fashion. Saturday night will be the Bobcats second visit to Philips, and it's particularly important the Hawks win given that the last two meetings of the season will be on the road.

Maybe I'm being silly, but I firmly believe we need to go at least 3-1 against them this season if we want to make the playoffs. I just view them as a microcosm of the whole schedule, that's all.

Anyway, my overall point is this - the Hawks need a split this weekend at worst, and given the lack of bodies for tonight, I hope we fight the good fight but leave enough in reserve to take care of business at home tomorrow.

Catch all the action tonight at 8:00 ET on FSN, and then come out tomorrow to Philips to cheer on your Hawks.

See you there!

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