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Source: Reuters, R

ATLANTA — The San Antonio Spurs snapped a four-game road losing streak with a 97-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

The victory allows the league leading Spurs (59-19) to tighten their grip on securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

They entered the game with a 1-1/2 game lead over the Eastern Conference leading Chicago Bulls, who are playing the slumping Phoenix Suns.

Manu Ginobili scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs, who held a one point advantage at the end of the third quarter.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 26 points while Tim Duncan added 17 points. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points off the bench.

Source: AFP

-- Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and the Orlando Magic routed Atlanta 105-75 on Saturday, winning for the 13th time in a row and moving one victory shy of reaching the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Dwight Howard had 21 points and 16 rebounds and Jameer Nelson added 14 points as the Magic extended an unbeaten run that includes the final six games of the regular season and a first-round sweep of Charlotte.

"It feels pretty good but we have to keep our focus and intensity," Howard said. "We have to not worry about the scoreboard. We are trying to do more than just win one game."

Orlando seized a 3-0 lead over Atlanta in the best-of-seven matchup and can complete the sweep by winning game four on Monday. No team in NBA history has ever recovered from losing the first three games in a series to advance.

The Magic has not lost since falling 112-100 at San Antonio on April 2 and Orlando has not dropped back-to-back games in four months, including wins in 27 of their past 30 starts overall.

Orlando won the opener against the Hawks by 43 points and took game two last Thursday by 14, humiliating an Atlanta club that was taken to the maximum seven games by Milwaukee in the first round.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points to lead Atlanta, which trailed by 10 or more points for 36 of the game's 48 minutes. Joe Johnson scored only eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.

The Magic lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year's NBA Finals after defeating Cleveland for the Eastern Conference title and Orlando looked geared for another run to the NBA's final four.

"They're as good as anybody out there," Hawks guard Jamal Crawford said. "I think they're built for a championship."

Source: AFP

-- Joe Johnson scored 25 points for Atlanta Wednesday as the Hawks handed the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers their second straight defeat - 109-92.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant scored 28 points but only eight in the second half as Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season.

The Lakers, who won twice on their five-game road trip, missed out on a chance to clinch the Pacific Division title.

The Hawks came into the night tied with Boston for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

But their ninth straight home win, coupled with Boston's 109-104 loss to Oklahoma City saw the Celtics fall out of the tie for third.

Johnson hit five three-pointers but Atlanta's reserves also came up big.

Jamal Crawford scored 14 points, Maurice Evans had 18 and the Hawks' reserves outscored the Lakers bench 48-22, also getting a double-double from Zaza Pachulia.

The Hawks took the lead for good on Crawford's three-pointer with 1:35 left in the first quarter. They extended the gap to 55-45 by halftime and were never threatened in the second half.

Bryant came out of the game with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

But the visit of the reigning NBA champs drew a rare full-house in Atlanta.

The Lakers were still without forward Luke Walton, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Walton, who is nursing a pinched nerve in his back, hopes to play Sunday.

However, Los Angeles could be without center Andrew Bynum (Achilles strain) for another 10 days.