Hawks beat Heat in OT

MIAMI (AP):

Close games have been a strength for Atlanta; a weakness for Miami.

The Hawks could not have been happier to see those trends continue. And suddenly, the southeast division looks very much like a three-team race.

Josh Smith made a go-ahead lay-up with 34.7 seconds left in overtime, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford each scored 19 points and the Hawks beat the Heat 93-89 on Tuesday night, sending Miami to a fourth straight loss and clawing within two games of the division lead.

"Everything we got tonight," Hawks coach Larry Drew said, "we really had to earn."

In games decided by five points or fewer, Atlanta are now 8-4. Miami are only 1-7, the lone victory coming when the Heat simply stole one from Washington in the final seconds.

And for a team that was riding a streak of 21 wins in 22 games a week ago, the Heat - who played without Chris Bosh and tried a number of unusual line-ups - are sliding.

Johnson had a game-tying lay-up with 25.4 seconds left in regulation and two game-sealing free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining in overtime.

LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, but missed a long three-pointer at the end of regulation and another 28-foot try as the shot clock was expiring late in overtime and the Heat down by two.

Dwayne Wade finished with 27 points for the Heat, who got a truly unusual game - 16 rebounds, with no field-goal or free-throw attempts - from Joel Anthony.

AT CHICAGO: D.J. Augustin scored 15 points, Gerald Wallace had 13 points and 16 rebounds and the Charlotte Bobcats held off the Chicago Bulls 83-82 in Tuesday night's other game. Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson added 12 points apiece to help the Bobcats snap a three-game losing streak, with their last win coming at home against the Bulls last week Wednesday.