Hawks Fall Short Of Heat

Dan Majerle and Isaiah Rider staged a personal 3-point shooting battle in the fourth quarter, but Voshon Lenard's pinky may have been the difference.

Majerle's 3-pointer with 1:15 left proved to be the game-winner as the Miami Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 93-91 on Wednesday night.

Alonzo Mourning scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but missed two shots in the final 25 seconds that gave the Hawks a chance to win with 5.9 seconds left.

"I tried to whip it by Lenard, but he got a pinky on it," said Rider, who scored 11 of his 28 points in the final quarter. "That's the way it goes. A half-inch more and he missed it and Bimbo has the ball and the shot."

Lenard was fouled and made one of two to give Miami a 93-91 lead with 1.7 left.

Rider, who scored 32 points in Tuesday's 113-106 Hawks' win, missed a 35-footer at the buzzer that slammed off the backboard and rim. The miss helped Miami secure its seventh straight home win against the Hawks.

"Dan always seems to come up clutch," said Heat coach Pat Riley. "He plays tough defense and always seems to be around big plays at crunch time."

Dikembe Mutombo had 20 points and 18 rebounds for the Hawks.

Majerle scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive 3-pointers in the final two minutes.

"I just kind of got it going," Majerle sid. "I hit that last-second one and just started feeling it."

Majerle's 3-pointer gave Miami a 78-76 lead with 5:55 left.

After Rider countered with a trey, Majerle hit two free throws and fed P.J. Brown for an alley-oop dunk and an 82-79 lead.

Alan Henderson hit a driving layup and Lenard answered with an 18-footer as the shot clock expired, giving Miami an 84-81 edge with 3:15 left.

Rider banked in a 12-footer, drawing Atlanta to within 84-83 with 2:56 remaining.

"That's all he (Majerle) does is shoot 3-pointers," said Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens. "You have to make him put it on the floor. You can't let him camp out at the 3-point line."

Tim Hardaway, who was out with a jammed right knee, missed his first game of the season. He will undergo an MRI Friday and is expected to miss at least 4-5 days.

Rider's layup and two free throws, along with a 3-pointer by Jason Terry, helped the Hawks to a 46-39 lead at halftime.

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