Hawks 126, 76ers 98
PHILADELPHIA -- Kent Bazemore scored 22 points, nine in a pivotal stretch late in the third quarter, as the Atlanta Hawks beat the mistake-prone Philadelphia 76ers 126-98 Thursday night.
Center Al Horford and forward Paul Millsap had 18 points each for Atlanta, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Horford also had nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while backup guard Dennis Schroder contributed 14 points.
The Hawks, who were scoring an NBA-best 20.2 points per game off opponents' turnovers, converted 22 Philadelphia giveaways into 29 points. Seven of those turnovers came in the last 3:19 of the third period, fueling a 15-5 Atlanta run that featured nine points from Bazemore, a guard/forward.
That pushed the lead from 82-71 to 97-76. Atlanta (22-15) led by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter.
Center Jahlil Okafor had 21 points to lead Philadelphia (4-34). Guard Ish Smith had 12 points and seven assists, while forward Nerlens Noel contributed nine points and 13 rebounds.
The Sixers moved to a 21-15 lead early in the game, only to see Atlanta jumpstart a 25-3 run with 19 consecutive points. Backup forward Mike Scott had nine points and reserve guard Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed eight to that flurry, which left the Hawks with a 40-24 cushion.
By halftime, the Hawks were up 61-44, having outscored the Sixers 39-23 in the second quarter.
Horford had 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the half, while Bazemore contributed 10 points.
Okafor topped Philadelphia with 13 first-half points.
The Atlanta lead ballooned to 74-50 early in the third quarter, and the Hawks were still up 80-56 when the Sixers reeled off 13 straight points. Noel had a pair of stick-backs to key the run, which sliced Philadelphia's deficit to 80-69.
After an exchange of baskets, the Sixers turned it over on four straight trips, leading to nine unanswered Hawks points, five of those by Bazemore. Three subsequent turnovers resulted in four more points for Atlanta, including another Bazemore basket.
NOTES: Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer called former Hawks F Elton Brand, signed Monday by the Sixers to mentor a young team, "one of my favorite people" and "one of the finest human beings I've ever been around." The 36-year-old Brand played for Atlanta the last two seasons, and was thought to be retiring. The Hawks were among the teams seeking to bring him aboard this season in some capacity, Budenholzer said, but Brand opted for Philadelphia, where he maintains a home. "Everybody's been talking about him being a mentor here," Budenholzer said. "I think he mentored me in some ways, for a couple years." ... Retired F Shane Battier met with the Sixers, though coach Brett Brown said the team was looking only to pick his brain, not sign him as a player. "What that means down the road, with some type of relationship, who knows?" Brown said.