Iguodala sparks Warriors to tight win over Hawks
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Andre Iguodala scored two hoops in an eight-point run to start the fourth quarter Monday night as the Golden State Warriors rallied from a deficit to turn back the Atlanta Hawks 105-100 for their 12th straight win.
The Hawks, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, took an 81-80 lead into the final period, but they never led again after Kevin Durant hit a jumper on Golden State's first possession of the decisive quarter.
Iguodala dropped in two interior baskets, and Shaun Livingston converted a fastbreak into a layup, completing the 8-0 run that produced an 88-81 lead.
The Hawks, who went the first 3:45 without a basket in the final period, had their chances.
They got within 88-85 on a layup by Kent Bazemore with 8:15 left, and then had two opportunities to tie on 3-point attempts by Dennis Schroder and Bazemore. Both missed.
The Golden State lead was just 91-89 two minutes later when Bazemore again went for the lead from 3-point range. Again, he was off the mark.
The Warriors then countered with the next six points, four by Durant, to create some separation they massaged to the end, thanks in large part to a pair of Draymond Green blocks in the final minute.
Green was playing two days after missing Golden State's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a sprained ankle.
Durant and Stephen Curry scored 25 points apiece for the Warriors (16-2), who beat Atlanta for the fourth straight time.
Durant, who made eight of his 16 shots, also corralled a team-high 14 rebounds.
Klay Thompson chipped in 20 points, Iguodala 12 and Green four points, a team-high seven assists and four blocks for Golden State, which shot 43.5 percent from the field.
Schroder had a team-high 24 points for the Hawks (10-8), who lost for the sixth time in seven games since a 9-2 start.
Schroder also accumulated a team-high six assists.
Dwight Howard (14 points, game-high 16 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (14 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Hawks, while Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
After falling behind 23-15 in the first nine minutes, the Hawks led for a majority of the middle two periods behind an opportunistic defense that converted 14 Warriors turnovers into 19 points on the night.
Schroder had eight points in the third quarter, helping the Hawks go up 74-67 eight minutes into the period.
Durant and reserves Iguodala and Ian Clark hit subsequent 3-pointers, however, allowing the Warriors to climb back within 81-80 by period's end and setting up the game-turning start of the fourth quarter.
NOTES: The NBA honored Warriors SF Kevin Durant as its Western Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday. Durant averaged 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.8 blocks in four Warriors wins. ... Coincidentally, Monday was Kevin Durant bobblehead night in Oakland. ... With the win, the Warriors own a 144-142 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to a game on Feb. 3, 1950, between the Philadelphia Warriors and Tri-Cities Blackhawks. ... Asked before the game about his team's players-only meeting Sunday night in Los Angeles, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said, "If they want to talk and hammer some things out, that's usually a good thing." ... Warriors C Zaza Pachulia averaged 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 556 games (223 starts) over eight seasons for the Hawks before leaving as a free agent in 2013. ... The only Hawks remaining from Pachulia's final year with the club: SG Kyle Korver and PF Mike Scott.