Andre Iguodala Beats Buzzer, Atlanta Hawks; Golden State Warriors Extend Streak To 8

Jan 3, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Golden State Warriors small forward Andre Iguodala (9) celebrates after a game winning shot against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at Philips Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hawks 101-100. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and Andre Iguodala buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Warriors to their eighth consecutive victory Friday night over the Atlanta Hawks, an improbable 101-100 triumph at Philips Arena.

The Warriors are now 4-0 on their seven-game Eastern trip and trail the idle Los Angeles Clippers by just a half-game for the Pacific Division lead.

Golden State (22-13) trailed the Hawks (18-15) 72-64 entering the fourth quarter and Atlanta  led 91-76 with 6:48 to play after center Pero Antic knocked down a 3-pointer from above the break.

The Warriors ran off eight straight points to cut the lead to 91-84 and after Atlanta pushed the lead back to 95-87, Golden State scored nine straight points, taking the lead on Stephen Curry’s running layup with 2:12 to go.

The Hawks answered with five straight points on two free throws and a short jumper by Paul Millsap and a free throw by Jeff Teague with 32.3 second to go. But Teague missed his second and after a timeout, the Warriors got it back to 100-98 on a floater by Curry.

Millsap missed a 20-foot turnaround with 3.9 seconds to go and Iguodala corralled the rebound to set up Golden State for a timeout and a final play with 3.2 seconds to go.

Iguodala got the ball from Curry on the left wing and canned a 26-footer as time expired.

The Warriors got off to a quick start, leading by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but Atlanta got into a rhythm and tied the game at halftime 46-46.

Atlanta took an eight-point lead to close out the third quarter when Golden State went cold, hitting just 6-for-17 in the periold. But the Warriors erupted for 37 points over the final 12 minutes to escape with the win.

Iguodala’s fourth quarter heroics were key—he was 3-for-4 from the floor and scored all seven of his points in the period, while Curry blew up for 14 of his 22 points over the final 12 minutes.

David Lee scored 23 points to lead the Warriors, Curry finished with 22, nine assists and five steals—but had nine turnovers—and Klay Thompson scored 21 points. Andrew Bogut topped Golden State with nine rebounds and three blocked shots and Draymond Green—on a quiet night from the bench—had two blocks. The Warrior reserves combined for just 22 points on 9-for-29 shooting.

Antic led the Hawks with 16 points, Shelvin Mack added 15, Teague finished with 14 points and seven assists and Millsap had 12 points and 11 rebounds along with two blocked shots. DeMarre Carroll and Mike Scott also scored 12 points each for Atlanta.

Golden State was 39-for-87 (44.8 percent) from the floor, just 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range and 17-of-25 from the foul line.

Atlanta countered with 37-for-80 (46.3 percent), 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) and 16-for-19 (84.2 percent).

The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 47-41, but had 21 turnovers to 20 for the Hawks. Golden State outscored Atlanta in the paint 44-36, on second-chance opportunities 13-8 and on the fast break, 22-16.

The Warriors take their winning streak—the longest current run in the NBA—to Washington on Sunday to face the Wizards. Tipoff is 3 p.m. Pacific. The trip wraps up Tuesday and Wednesday at Milwaukee and Brooklyn, respectively.

Phil Watson contributed to this report.