The Miami Heat snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the slumping Atlanta Hawks 92-75 on Monday.
The Heat (17-15) never looked back after racing into a 30-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, with Dwyane Wade registering a team-high 28 points and Michael Beasley contributing 22 and eight rebounds.
“We’ve shown an ability to bounce back and have some resiliency,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “It was a strong, important win.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Hawks (21-12) fell to their fourth straight defeat and recorded a season-low scoring total with reserve Jamal Crawford (23 points) one of just two players reaching double figures.
It was the second meeting this season between two teams who faced off in a seven-game first-round playoff series won by the Hawks last year.
“I guess it could be a little bit of a rivalry,” Miami forward Udonis Haslem said.
The Heat started strongly and Beasley tallied 11 points in the first quarter to help Miami seize control of the contest with a 16-2 spurt.
The Heat led by as much as 25 in the second and were never really threatened the rest of the way.
Haslem added 12 points and eight rebounds to help the home side dominate the glass with a 52-30 advantage on the boards, despite the absence of injured big man Jermaine O’Neal.
Atlanta, now mired in their longest losing streak of the season, came in still reeling from Friday’s overtime loss to the New York Knicks when they squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks have lost six of their last eight games to fall three games behind the leading Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.
“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “I have to take responsibility for that. It’s unacceptable how we played.”
THUNDER 98, BULLS 85
At Chicago, Russell Westbrook scored 29 points and Kevin Durant added 25 as Oklahoma City dominated the third quarter in a victory over Chicago.
Westbrook and Durant had eight points each during a 27-6 run in the third, when the Thunder shot 65 percent to take control.
It was Oklahoma City’s sixth victory in seven games.
Derrick Rose scored 19 points and Joakim Noah had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who were booed by their fans as they shot 22 percent in the decisive third period.
HORNETS 91, JAZZ 87
At Salt Lake City, Chris Paul stole the ball and drove for a layup with 27 seconds left to help New Orleans end a late threat for their first victory in Utah in almost four years.
Paul scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Devin Brown finished with a career-high 30 as the Hornets overcame 19 turnovers and ended a six-game losing streak at Utah.
Deron Williams had 17 points and 11 assists, giving him 3,003 assists for his career, and Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, who lost their third straight.
CLIPPERS 105, TRAIL BLAZERS 95
At Los Angeles, Chris Kaman scored 20 points and Eric Gordon added 19 as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Martell Webster scored a season-high 25 points, including five 3-pointers, Andre Miller had 22 points and 16 assists, and Juwan Howard added 16 points for Portland, who beat the Clippers 103-99 last week in Portland.
The Clippers led by four points going into the final 12 minutes.
They opened with an 18-6 spurt, including six by Rasual Butler, to take their largest lead of the game, 95-80. The Blazers went nearly four minutes without a basket in that stretch.
Butler scored 11 of his 13 points in the period. Baron Davis had 15 points and nine assists for the Clippers.
■ARENAS APOLOGIZES
AFP, WASHINGTON
Gilbert Arenas says he took unloaded guns from his locker in the Washington Wizards arena in a “misguided effort to play a joke” on a teammate.
Arenas spoke with law enforcement officials on Monday, answering all questions he faced in a two-hour interview, his lawyer said.
Afterward, the NBA player issued a written statement in which he repeated his claim that he brought four firearms to the Verizon Center to store unloaded in his locker because he didn’t want them in his house with his children.
The presence of the guns at the facility had already sparked a police investigation when the New York Post reported on Friday that Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in a dispute over a gambling debt.
Arenas, who had previously said the report was overblown, said he took the unloaded guns out of his locker on Dec. 21 “in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate.”
“Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong,” Arenas said. “I should not have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I now realize that there’s no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns — even if unloaded.”
“I am very sorry for the effect that my serious lapse in judgment has had on my team, my teammates, the National Basketball Association and its fans,” Arenas said. “I want to apologize to everybody for letting them down with my conduct, and I promise to do better in the future.”
Crittenton’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said on Monday that his client did nothing wrong. It wasn’t clear whether Crittenton would also meet investigators probing the incident.
NBA rules bar players from possessing firearms at league facilities or when traveling on league business.
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