ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Smith had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 93-84 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Friday night.
Jeff Teague had 17 points and six assists, Joe Johnson scored 16 and Kirk Hinrich added 14 for the Hawks.
Atlanta won for the fourth time in five games to pull within four percentage points of Indiana, which lost 113-111 to Phoenix, for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Deron Williams scored 20 points and Kris Humphries added 17 for New Jersey, which has lost five straight and seven of eight.
Teague’s layup gave the Hawks a nine-point lead, their biggest of the game, with 3:56 remaining. The Nets pulled within four before Smith had a basket and two free throws to put Atlanta up 88-80 with 2:05 remaining.
