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The Atlanta Hawks dropped a 99-80 decision to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. The Hawks were outscored by 15 points in the second half on their way to losing their third game in the last four.
Josh Smith scored 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting and pulled down six rebounds, but the struggles of Al Horford and former 76er Lou Williams, who shot a combined 6-for-22 from the floor, negatively affected the Hawks down the stretch.
The Miami Heat took advantage of the Hawks' poor play of late, moving 2 1/2 games in front of Atlanta due in part to a 110-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. LeBron James' 24 points and nine rebounds helped the Heat race to a 30-point lead after three quarters.
The Charlotte Bobcats fell to 7-19 on the season after a 115-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday. It was the Bobcats' 14th straight loss, the third time in the last two seasons they've lost at least that many consecutive games. They are the only NBA team during that stretch to have even one 14-game losing streak.
Other Thursday and Friday scores from around the NBA's Southeast division:
Toronto Raptors 93, Orlando Magic 90
Detroit Pistons 100, Washington Wizards 68