Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scoreboard - Live Odds - Sporting Events - Live Lines

Final Score: Sacramento 117 - Atlanta 123

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Mike Bibby tied a season-high with 24 points and dished out 12 assists in his Hawks home debut, which came at the expense of his former squad, as Atlanta snuck past Sacramento, 123-117, at Philips Arena.

The Hawks acquired Bibby from the Kings on Feb. 16, swapping Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson for the veteran point guard. This marked the second time tangling with Sacramento in nearly two weeks since the trade. On Feb. 20, Bibby's return to ARCO Arena was spoiled in a 119-107 loss.

Though the deal was made with hopes of propelling Atlanta into the playoffs, the Hawks won just once in Bibby's first five games with the team.

The sixth outing of his Atlanta tenure, though, certainly went according to plan, as Bibby shined in the triumph over his friends-turned-foes out of Sacramento.

"A win is always good," Bibby commented. "Trying to make that playoff run right now and...win. We've got to take it game by game and just win every chance we get. It was good to play here. It was a different circumstance playing against Sacramento...it was different, but I'm glad that we won."

Joe Johnson poured in 26 points for the Hawks, including 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, helping the club erase a two-game losing skid. The Hawks had dropped eight of their last nine affairs, and were playing without Marvin Williams, their third-leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, due to an undisclosed illness. His teammates, however, stepped up in his absence.

Josh Childress scored 25 points off the bench for the Hawks, with 22 coming in the second half, and Josh Smith tallied 14 points and reeled in 10 rebounds in the winning effort.

Brad Miller managed 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Sacramento, which has lost three consecutive contests and six of its last nine. Despite the defeat, the Kings have won 12 of the last 15 meetings with the Hawks. However, the three losses have all come at Philips Arena.

Beno Udrih also added 25 points for Sacramento, and handed out eight helpers. Ron Artest contributed 23 points, seven boards and four assists, and Francisco Garcia gave 14 points. Mikki Moore chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Following the intermission, the teams traded blows through the bulk of the third quarter, never with more than three points between them, until the Hawks took control with a 12-4 flurry. Childress netted seven points in the streak, including a putback layup that pushed Atlanta ahead, 91-83, with 1:39 to play.

With the final frame on the forefront, the Hawks held a 93-85 lead.

After extending the advantage to 14 points thanks to an 8-0 spurt, the Hawks nearly saw their edge evaporate, as the Kings came back with a 10-0 barrage of their own. Garcia's foul shot cut the deficit to 108-104 at the 4:35 mark.

That, however, was as close as Sacramento came to overtaking Atlanta. The Kings had several opportunities to move within a bucket of the Hawks, but were unable to capitalize. Sacramento converted just three of its next 13 field goal attempts, while Atlanta hit on 7-of-9 free throws over the same span, sealing the victory.

"I'm just glad we won," explained Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. "That's what is important as we come down the homestretch of these last 27 games. It's one game at a time, and we're still in the hunt. We're trying to stay on track and win basketball games -- that's what it's all about."

Atlanta gained the game's first separation when it went on a 12-1 scoring streak in the opening quarter. Johnson buried back-to-back Hawks buckets from beyond the arc to cap the burst, and Atlanta was on top, 24-11, with 5:39 remaining.

It is not often a squad puts up 28 points in the first period and trails by double digits, but that is exactly what happened when the Hawks carried a 40-28 cushion over the Kings into the second stanza.

Atlanta's 40 points established a franchise season-high for scoring output in a quarter.

"When you let a team score 40 points in the first quarter, it's going to be a long night," lamented Kings head coach Reggie Theus. "I think we made some good runs tonight, but when you allow the other team to score so much, it defeats the purpose. We can't win on the road if (we) can't stop anybody."

Down by a dozen, Sacramento ripped off a 23-9 run to take its first lead since it was 6-5 after almost two minutes ticked off in the initial frame. Garcia highlighted the surge with eight points, and his three-pointer with 32.9 seconds left in the half gave the Kings a 56-54 edge.

Moving the ball upcourt for Atlanta with just four seconds to go, Johnson nearly lost possession of the ball, but regained control just in time to hoist up a leaning jump shot from about 35 feet out. Despite three Kings around him, challenging the attempt, Johnson nailed it with a mere two tenths of a second on the clock, and the Hawks took a 59-58 advantage into the locker room.