Hawks Squeak By Grizzlies

With leading scorer Steve Smith sidelined with a sprained left knee, the Atlanta Hawks couldn't be sure who would produce against the Vancouver Grizzlies on Friday night.

They found their man in the middle, 7-foot-2 Dikembe Mutombo, who scored a season-high 24 points as the Hawks edged the Grizzlies 84-81.

"It was a big lift," Tyrone Corbin said of Mutombo's contribution. "When he's on his game, we're tough to beat."

"Dikembe just carried us all night," Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens said. "And we needed it. We kept going inside."

Mutombo hit 9 of 11 shots, mostly short hooks around the basket. He also made all six of his free throws and blocked four shots.

The Grizzlies managed to stay close, but couldn't pull off a rare road victory.

"I think what is happening is that we're getting into these situations and we're getting tentative," coach Brian Hill said. "It's almost like we're playing not to lose rather than playing to win."

It was Atlanta's sixth victory in eight games. The Grizzlies lost their seventh in eight and 20th in 22.

Corbin also gave the Hawks a big lift, hitting two key 3-pointers after Atlanta had gone scoreless for 5:46 in the third, allowing Vancouver to build a 55-46 lead on Mike Bibby's 18-footer with 4:09 left in the quarter. Corbin cut the lead to 57-52 with his two baskets and the Hawks eventually gained a tie at 64 on Grant Long's layup with 7:10 to play.

Bibby's fastbreak layup off an Atlanta turnover gave the Grizzlies a 70-68 lead with 4:10 to play, but Anthony Johnson tied it on a runner in the lane with 3:48 to play.

Johnson missed a free throw that would have given the Hawks the lead, but Mutombo grabbed the rebound and the Grizzlies were called for their second illegal defense of the night.

Johnson shot the technical, putting the awks ahead to stay, 71-70 with 3:36 to play.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver with 24 points and Bibby added 20.

"We can't really come up with it when we need it," Abdur-Rahim said. "Finhish games off and stuff like that. I think we're not making the big plays. I don't so much think buckets. I just think they outhustled us for loose balls down the stretch."

Corbin and Long each scored 14 off the bench for the Hawks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Notes: The Hawks placed Smith on the injured list because of a sprained left knee, saying he could be out of action 7-10 days. Smith missed six games earlier in the season with a strained right knee. ... The Grizzlies signed Terry Dehere to a second 10-day contract. ... The victory lifted the Hawks record against Vancouver to 7-0. ... It was Vancouver's 13th loss in a row on the road, where they are 1-14 this season. ... Atlanta's 30 points in the fourth quarter tied its season-high.

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