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ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Terry scored 24 points as the Atlanta Hawks dominated the final minutes in a 101-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Abdur-Rahim made 13-of-19 shots from the field, including 6-of-8 in a 14 point first quarter. He scord 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting during a 19-9 third-quarter run Atlanta used to turn a tie into a 74-64 lead. Terry's 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in the third gave the Hawks an 80-70 lead, but the Trail Blazers responded with a 15-4 spurt bridging the final two quarters. Bonzi Wells scored seven points during the stretch and Steve Kerr capped it with consecutive layups to give Portland an 85-84 lead with 7:25 left. "I feel like we didn't lose our composure," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "But that wasn't the essence of the game. They had a lot more energy than we had." Cal Bowdler made a pair of free throws to give Atlanta the lead for good and spark a 15-4 run. Terry nailed two jumpers and a technical free throw during the spurt and added a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to help seal the victory. "It was big, they were coming back," Terry said. "They're a great team. It would have been a bad blow to our confidence if we let them come back and win this one, because we came out and played well." "It was big for us," Abdur-Rahim said. "We needed to be able to withstand (the run) and step up and make plays and continue to learn how to win games down the stretch." DerMarr Johnson scored 12 points and Dion Glover added 11 for the Hawks, who shot 50 percent (37-of-74) and won for the fourth time in seven games. "It was a really good win," Hawks coach Lon Kruger said. "The guys opened up the ballgame with a good job of intensity, especially on the defensive end. We played well, especially down on the post, and fought like crazy in there." Atlanta collected just three offensive rebounds and was outscored, 48-32, in the paint and 24-13 on the fast break. Wells finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace scored 14 points for Portland, which failed to match its season-high of three straight wins and lost for the seventh time in nine games. Dale Davis scored 14 points and Derek Anderson added 10 off the bench as Portland fell to 2-9 in its last 11 road games. "We should have beaten this team, we know that," Davis said. "We've been struggling. We need to play our way out of it. We need to cut down on mental mistakes and stay focused and build on what we're doing." "Somehow we've got to get some consistency playing," Cheeks said. "I still believe it's coming. Somehow, some way, we have to find a way to do it." Abdur-Rahim's early success helped the Hawks to a 28-24 lead after the first quarter. They had a 31-28 edge early in the second period before Johnson scored four straight points to extend the lead. "It was important for us to come out and play well early," Terry said. "Coach told us to come out aggressively and get the lead early in the first quarter and see how they respond." The Blazers went on a 10-2 run later in the period and took a 40-38 lead on Davis' dunk with 5:31 remaining. Portland went into halftime with a 51-49 advantage. |
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