Hawks Squeak-By 76ers

April 15, 1998 / 12:01 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Alan Henderson sent a message to those Atlanta Hawks fans who booed when the team drafted the Indiana forward with the 16th overall pick in 1995.

Some of the fans were upset the Hawks did not draft guard Bobby Sura from Florida State.

"The fans down here aren't watching enough Big Ten basketball," Henderson said after scoring a career-high 39 points in a 95-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. "I heard the boos that night. I want to prove the Hawks made a good decision.

"Tonight, I had a good rhythm. I started to shoot and everything fell. Sometimes there will be nights like that. I'm glad it came in an important game as we chase Charlotte for the No. 4 playoff spot and home court advantage."

The Hawks remain one game behind the Hornets and will host Charlotte on Friday night.

Henderson had a streak of four consecutive 20-point or more games earlier in April, but over the last three games had shot only 12-of-31 and scored a total of 32 points.

"It hadn't been falling recently," he said. "Tonight, I got a lot of close-in jumpers and drives to the hoop. The guys were finding me in good positions," said Henderson, who hit on 16-of-21 shots.

"It was one of those nights for Henderson," said Derrick Coleman, who missed a 15-foot jumper in the closing seconds which would have won the game. "After he hit the 3-pointer in the third quarter, he and I just ran down the court laughing about it. And Alan pointed out the fact that he was 3-of-6 on treys for the whole season.

"We kept fighting. We haven't given up on the season. We're nearly .500 since the All-Star break. We may not be going to the playoffs, but we're going to play everybody hard the rest of the way."

Mookie Blaylock's 10th steal of the game prevented a potential game-winning shot.

Henderson hit a free throw with 30.6 seconds left to give Atlanta a 95-92 lead. Theo Ratliff's hook shot cut it to 95-94 with 26 seconds left.

After a turnover, Coleman missed a 15-footer from the corner. Mark Davis rebounded with 1.5 seconds left but was stripped of the ball by Blaylock.

Blaylock finished with a career-high 10 steals, 11 assists and 14 points and to record his second triple-double of the season and sixth of his career. He also had eight rebounds.

Henderson surpassed his previous career-high of 27 points. He scored 10 points in the fourth period as Atlanta won its third straight and sixth in its last eight.

Allen Iverson scored 26 points, including seven in the final six minutes, and reached the 20-point level for the 11th consecutive game. He has led the 76ers in scoring in nine straight games, the best club streak since Charles Barkley led in 16 straight in 1990-91.

Coleman added 20 oints, and Ratliff had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Philadelphia lost its third straight loss and fourth in five games.

Atlanta took the lead to stay on Tyrone Corbin's jumper for a 52-51 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Notes: Atlanta has won seven of its last eight against Philadelphia. ... Eddridge Recasner is 11-of-14 on 3-pointers in his last four games. ... The Hawks are 28-7 against losing teams, but 20-24 against winning teams. ... Iverson has scored at least 20 points 49 times this year. ... Ratliff has blocked at least one shot in 53 consecutive games. ... Before Tuesday, Steve Smith's 35 points at Cleveland on Feb. 5 was the best scoring output for Atlanta this season.