The Toronto Raptors made a game of it in the second half but the Atlanta Hawks took control in the fourth quarter to close out a 93-84 win at Philips Arena. Atlanta is now 10-4 on the season and has won three straight games since Al Horford went down with a shoulder injury.
Josh Smith and Joe Johnson had big games for the Hawks who defeated the Raptors for the eighth consecutive time in Atlanta. Smith hit his first six shots of the game on his way to 28 points and 15 rebounds. Johnson stuffed the stat sheet finishing with 27 points, five boards, six assists, two steals and three blocks. Johnson hit 9-20 shots from the field. Jeff Teague added 13 points, six assists and four steals for Atlanta.
Leandro Barbosa scored 22 points off the bench to lead the Raptors. Jose Calderon and Amir Johnson each finished with 13 points while DeMar DeRozan and Rasual Butler had 10. Toronto out rebounded Atlanta 42-36 but turned the ball over 17 times which led to 20 points for the Hawks.
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