High-flying Hawks snap Pistons’ seven-game run

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Kris Humphries defends in the third quarter at Verizon Center on Friday. The Wizards won 102-86.

Agencies/Los AngelesThe Atlanta Hawks kept one streak alive and put an end to another. Al Horford had 19 points with a season-high 16 rebounds, and the high-flying Hawks held off a late charge Friday for their seventh straight victory while snapping the Detroit Pistons’ seven-game run, 106-103. “We just have to do a better job of finishing,” Horford said. “We won the game, so we’ll take it.” Paul Millsap scored 17, Jeff Teague had 14 and 11 assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks (28-8), who have taken 21 of their last 23 contests. Atlanta built a 23-point second-quarter cushion against revitalized Detroit, which owned the league’s longest current win streak. The feisty Pistons fought back behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who fired in 16 of his 20 points in the final frame. But with a shot to knot the contest, he missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and the Hawks escaped with their franchise-record eighth straight road win. “Obviously, this is not how we wanted to finish,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’ll have to learn from it and play better second halves.” Kyle Singler scored 16 points while Greg Monroe collected 15 and 12 rebounds for the Pistons (12-24), who hit 13-of-43 triples but fell for the first time since December 21. “We didn’t come ready to play at all in the first half, we played with no intensity,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy conceded. “We had better energy in the second half and certainly down the stretch. The guys kept playing and we had a desperation shot to tie it in the end.”Elsewhere, Boston, which overhauled its roster recently, produced an impressive fourth-quarter rally, but Indiana overcame poor shooting to win in overtime with a 107-103 verdict over Pacers. Boston guard Avery Bradley forced overtime with a three-pointer from the left corner with four seconds remaining in regulation, tying the score at 94-94 and capping a comeback from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. John Wall claimed his first head-to-head victory over fellow star guard Derrick Rose as the Washington Wizards held on after taking a 20-point lead in the first quarter.  The Wizards beat the Bulls 102-86.Center Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Wall finished with 16 points and 12 assists for the Wizards, who moved ahead of the Bulls and into second place in the Eastern Conference standings. Center Nerlens Noel had the winning dunk with 3.2 seconds remaining as Philadelphia rallied from a 13-point deficit to score a narrow 90-88 victory over Nets. Noel finished with 12 points and his biggest play capped an impressive comeback for the 76ers, who improved to 6-29. Guard Jrue Holiday had 23 points and eight assists and led five players in double figures to lift the Pelicans to a 106-95 victory over Grizzlies. The Pelicans snapped a two-game losing streak and got balanced scoring. In addition to Holiday, guard Tyreke Evans scored 21 points and forwards Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson had 20 each. Forward Kevin Durant scored 32 points to help the Thunder end a two-game losing streak. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook posted 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go along with 12 assists. Guard Dion Waiters, recently acquired from Cleveland, added 15 points off the bench. Point guard Brandon Knight scored 14 points as the Bucks snapped a four-game home losing streak. Knight hit 5-of-10 shots and knocked down a pair of three-pointers to lead a Milwaukee offense that got 12 points each from guard O.J. Mayo and forward John Henson. San Antonio made six three-point baskets in the fourth quarter as it beat Phoenix 100-95. The Spurs used the barrage of jump shots to erase a 10-point deficit. Guard Danny Green led the San Antonio with 20 points.