A season-high 27-point haul from Dyson Daniels has willed Atlanta past a Paul George-inspired Philadelphia for a crucial NBA win.
The Hawks held off the 76ers 120-117 on Sunday (Monday AEDT) in Atlanta, George's 35 points on seven-of-10 three point shooting almost dragging the visitors to a comeback win.
But Australian guard Daniels and his Hawks mates, keen to make up for a 142-115 loss to the struggling Detroit two days earlier, had the answers to improve to 15-12 - good enough for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Daniels scored four points in a frenetic final 90 seconds that saw the Hawks cling to a one-point lead on back-to-back 76ers possessions.
Their shots rattled out and, following a time-out, Nickeil Alexander-Walker narrowly avoided a back-court violation as he was fouled and sent to the free-throw line.
The Hawks guard made both and the hosts - playing without star pair Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis - breathed a sigh of relief when Quentin Grimes' game-tying attempt again rattled out on the buzzer.
Daniels shot at nearly 70 per cent from the field and added 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal, while Jalen Johnson (12 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds) had his fourth straight triple-double.
Hawks centre Onyeka Okongwu (20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists) was stoic in the face of 76ers big Joel Embiid (22 points, 14 rebounds).
It was the Hawks' seventh straight win against Philadelphia (14-11), dating back to December 2023.
Boomers star Daniels, who signed a $150 million, four-year contract extension in the off-season, struggled to make an impact offensively early in the campaign.
But he's found his touch around the rim in recent games, scoring in double figures in 13 of his past 14 appearances.
"We've been in a lot of close games, we know what to do and that one rattled out, thank god," Daniels said post-game.
"We had a double overtime against these guys last time, glad it didn't go there again.
"We got smacked last game against Detroit. We wanted to come in and compete and that's what we did."
Josh Giddey's Chicago Bulls fell to 10-15 and lost a fourth straight game at their United Centre home, this time to the lowly New Orleans 114-104.
The Pelicans, last in the Western Conference, improved to 5-22 behind Trey Murphy's 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Giddey scored 11 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists as the Bulls, who ended a seven-game losing streak on Saturday, were blown away in the second quarter and only briefly threatened a comeback early in the fourth term.
