RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) -- The NBA's last winless team is winless no more.
|  | | Jason Terry hit a running jumper with 2.6 seconds left to give the Hawks and first-year coach Lon Kruger their first win. |
After losing their first seven games, the Atlanta Hawks got
their first victory of the season Tuesday night when Jason Terry
hit a pull-up jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining to beat the
Portland Trail Blazers 99-97.
"This is a very big monkey off our back," said Lorenzen
Wright, who led the Hawks with a season-high 20 points. "I don't
think we knew how to win. Now, we know we can do it."
Terry was taken out of the starting lineup by coach Lon Kruger
after the worst start in franchise history. But the point guard was
on the floor at the critical moment of the game.
Portland's Rasheed Wallace tied the score at 97 with 8.6 seconds
left, hitting a long 3-pointer from straightaway with Terry's hands
in his face.
After a timeout, Terry took the inbounds pass and drove the
length of the court, pulling up on the side of the lane and
swishing a 7-foot jumper over another former Arizona point guard,
Damon Stoudamire.
Terry played 23 minutes in his new role, scoring 11 points and
doling out a team-high six assists.
"When you're 0-7, something has to change," he said.
"Unfortunately, it was me. But if I can provide a spark off the
bench, I've got no problem with it."
Ex-Hawk Steve Smith had one final chance to win it for Portland,
but his 3-pointer was long as the buzzer sounded.
"This is the NBA," Dale Davis said. "Just because a team is
0-7, that doesn't mean they can't win. They're not going to go
0-82."
The Trail Blazers led by as many as 10 in the first half and
were up 57-49 at halftime. But they seemed to tire after playing
the previous night in New Jersey.
"We had them beat a long time ago," Stoudamire said. "They
were a desperate team. When you have a desperate team down, you
have to knock them out. You give them any kind of light and they're
going to run with it."
There were 17 lead changes over the final two quarters, with the
Hawks taking a lead (75-71) to the final period for the first time
this season.
Kruger took over the Hawks this season after spending his entire
coaching career at the college level. He quickly discovered just
how difficult this rebuilding job was going to be, prompting him to
shake up the lineup just a couple of weeks into the season.
Terry was benched in favor of Matt Maloney at point guard, while
Chris Crawford made his first start at forward after Roshown McLeod
went on the injured list.
"It's really pleasing and satisfying (to win) and it reinforces
the things we've been doing," Kruger said. "But it's a long
season. We've got a long way to go and we've got a lot of work to
do."
Wright was among five Atlanta players in double figures and led
a productive night by the bench. The reserves scored 50 of the 99
points, outplaying Portland's more prominent reserves.
Wallace paced the Trail Blazers with 25 points, including 12
from the free-throw line. But Portland was outrebounded 14-4 in the
third quarter, letting the Hawks back in the game.
"We just lost, man," Wallace said. "There's nothing else to
talk about."
Game notes
Portland still has five games left on its Eastern road
trip. ... The Hawks inserted an entirely new lineup at the
beginning of the second quarter, putting in Terry, Wright, Hanno
Mottola, Larry Robinson and DerMarr Johnson. ... McLeod was
replaced on the roster by Cal Bowdler, who missed the first seven
games with a sprained ligament in his right knee. ... Portland
center Arvydas Sabonis played his first game since arthroscopic
knee surgery on Oct. 13. He had 12 points and three rebounds in 13
minutes. ... Antonio Harvey, bothered by a sore right knee,
replaced Sabonis on the injured list.
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NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
Blazers activate Sabonis after knee surgery
RECAPS
Atlanta 99
Portland 97
Cleveland 96
Golden State 86
Miami 89
Charlotte 86
Sacramento 96
Orlando 82
Houston 110
Chicago 83
San Antonio 86
Utah 79
Seattle 96
New York 75
LA Lakers 119
Denver 103
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