Hardaway leads Hawks' big rally against Rockets
HOUSTON -- Tim Hardaway Jr. erupted for 23 points in the fourth quarter, including 15 in succession down the stretch, to carry the Atlanta Hawks to a stunning 113-108 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at Toyota Center.
Behind the scintillating performance from Hardaway, the Hawks (29-21) erased a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter, rallying after Rockets guard Eric Gordon drilled a 3-pointer that pushed Houston into a 97-77 lead with 8:28 left.
Atlanta responded with nine consecutive points before Hardaway caught fire, converting a three-point play and a 3-pointer around a Dwight Howard alley-oop.
After Gordon responded with another trey to push the Houston (36-17) lead to 104-96, Hardaway (33 points) carried the Hawks home with a streak capped by a thunderous dunk with 41.8 seconds left that gave Atlanta a 111-108 lead.
Rockets guard James Harden scored 18 of his game-high 41 points in the third quarter, including 12 in succession in the opening two minutes of the quarter. That blitz looked to be enough when the Rockets extended the lead to 20 lead before Hardaway helped facilitate Houston's unimaginable collapse.
Howard paired 24 points with 23 rebounds in his return to Houston. Paul Millsap added 16 points for Atlanta, which shot 51.8 percent from the floor.
Clint Capela chipped in 22 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who were 13 of 51 on 3-pointers. Gordon and forward Trevor Ariza were a combined 3 of 20 from deep, with Ariza shooting an air ball in the final seconds.
NOTES: Rockets G James Harden ended January as the No. 5 scorer in the NBA, averaging 28.3 points, but only 12th in field goal attempts per game with 18.6. Houston coach Mike D'Antoni acknowledged that Harden is still learning to strike the right balance between shooting and getting teammates involved in his first season as the point guard. He expects Harden to become more assertive within the offense by the playoffs. ... The Hawks entered fifth in the league in defensive rating (103.2). Their erratic play of late can be directly linked to their defense, with the Hawks posting a 6-5 record in the previous 11 games entering Thursday. Their defensive rating during that span was 107.4, 16th in the NBA. ... Rockets C Clint Capela got the start against Dwight Howard, his counterpart with the Hawks. Capela was a mentee under Howard, who signed with Atlanta as a free agent after three seasons with the Rockets, for two seasons.