Hawks vs. Rockets Final Score: Atlanta uses late run to knock off Houston, 109-97

The Atlanta Hawks extended their winning streak to five games on Saturday night with a 109-97 win over the Houston Rockets.

Trailing 87-82 in the fourth quarter, Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Hawks a one-point lead with 8:26 remaining. Hardaway added a dunk another three-pointer for the Hawks' next five points and a 93-89 lead with just more than five minutes left. Michael Beasley's layup cut the Atlanta lead to 97-95, but Al Horford countered with a corner three-pointer to give the Hawks a 100-95 lead with 3:12 remaining in the game. Thabo Sefolosha added a dagger three-pointer, and Horford followed it up with a transition dunk to put the Hawks up 10 with fewer than two minutes left to wrap up the win for Atlanta.

After the Rockets got out to an early 10-4 lead, Horford and Hardaway led the Hawks to a 26-6 run for a 30-16 first quarter lead. Horford had seven points on 3-5 shooting and five rebounds in the quarter, while Hardaway added eight points on 3-4 shooting off of the bench in just four minutes.

Hardaway continued that hot shooting early in the second quarter when he converted a four-point play on a three-pointer plus the foul. He came out at the 8:00 mark in the quarter and didn't return to the court until late in the third quarter.

The second quarter quickly got out of hand for the Hawks as Houston went on a 28-9 run to end the second quarter leading 58-52. The Rockets scored 42 points in the period on 61 percent shooting. They assisted 13 of 14 field goals in the quarter.

The Hawks bounced back with a strong offensive showing the third quarter, shooting 57 percent from the field and scoring 30 points. Kyle Korver and Schroder led the surge. Korver knocked down three three-pointers and flashed his dunking skills on his way 11 third-quarter points. Schroder got to the rim repeatedly and had eight points in the period.

Horford led the Hawks offensively with 22 points and nine rebounds on 10-19 shooting. He was a +19 on the night. Hardaway followed up his season-high 21 points in the starting lineup on Thursday with another strong outing, scoring 20 points in 20 minutes on 7-11 shooting from the floor and 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Schroder, Paul Millsap, Korver, and Sefolosha all finished with double-digit scoring, giving the Hawks six players in double figures.

Atlanta finished with 32 assists for the second consecutive game, making it 9-0 with 32 or more assists this season. Shooting 50 percent from the field in the game, the Hawks are now 20-1 this season when shooting 48.8 percent or higher.

The Hawks will look to extend their five-game winning streak on Monday night at home against the Wizards. Stay tuned for more.