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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) – Lon Kruger hadn't talked about an Atlanta Hawks
home win since Jan. 31. He almost didn't know what to say.
|  | | Bulls guard Ron Artest, left, shadows the Hawks' Jason Terry. |
"Through this stretch of games, the guys have stayed
positive," Kruger said. "They've handled it well, though the
frustration of losing is certainly there."
Jason Terry scored 19 points and Toni Kukoc added 16 as the
Hawks snapped a 10-game losing streak Saturday night with a 93-90
victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Driving into traffic in Atlanta's halfcourt offense, Terry hit a
layup with 20.8 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 91-87 lead.
Reserve guard Dion Glover, who finished with a season-high 17
points and a career-high eight rebounds, hit a pair of free throws
seven seconds later to end the scoring for Atlanta.
"We've been trying to find out why we've been losing," Glover
said. "We've been hanging our heads. We didn't hang our heads
tonight."
Ron Artest, who hit a 3-pointer inside the final two seconds,
joined Elton Brand in leading the Bulls with 20 points.
Chicago, the worst team in the NBA, has lost five of seven,
eight of 11 and 24 of 29. The Hawks, owners of the league's
fourth-worst record, avoided setting the second-longest losing
streak in Atlanta history.
"We definitely missed a chance," Brand said. "They were
struggling as we were. They had lost 10 in a row. I think Jason
Terry and Toni Kukoc really stepped up and made some big shots. I
think that really was the difference in tonight's games."
The Hawks' 108-103 loss at Philadelphia on Friday put them in a
tie with the 1980-81 team, which lost 10 straight from Oct. 30-Nov.
15. Atlanta's 1976 team lost a team-record 16 consecutive games.
"I just feel great for the guys," said Kruger, a first-year
NBA coach. "Through this stretch of games we haven't won, the guys
have stayed positive. They've been right in some of them but they
haven't quite been able to finish."
Kukoc, who played nearly seven years in Chicago, put the Hawks
up 76-74 after hitting a running 5-foot jumper and a free throw,
but Brand answered with a putback with 5:42 remaining.
"I do still have a soft kind of feeling, I guess," Kukoc said
of his former team. "All the memories and all the time spent
there. But it's good to win. It's good to win any game."
The Hawks had the lead for good after Terry's 3-pointer 15
seconds later made it 81-78.
"It came down to the last possession," Terry said. "We
attacked the basket."
Michael Ruffin pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the
Bulls.
Game notes
Chicago extended its road losing streak to a franchise-record 18 games. ... Center Lorenzen Wright, placed on the injured list
Saturday with a sprained right thumb, is wearing a plaster cast.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Chicago Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 107
New Jersey 101
Atlanta 93
Chicago 90
Charlotte 100
Milwaukee 90
Orlando 105
Minnesota 93
Houston 86
Golden State 81
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