ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks avoided a series sweep by the Toronto Raptors to hold onto first place in the Southeast Division.
Jeff Teague converted a late three-point play and finished with 23 points as the Hawks defeated the Raptors 95-87 to remain a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat and third overall in the Eastern Conference with a week left in the regular season.
Paul Millsap had 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Hawks (47-32), while Al Horford and reserves Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mike Scott each scored 11 points.
Down 77-63 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors (52-26) got within 88-86 on two free throws by Jonas Valanciunas with 56 seconds remaining. However, Teague converted a driving three-point play with 48 seconds left to get the Hawks out of danger.
The Raptors, the Atlantic Division champions, had won the first three games against the Hawks this season and seven of the previous eight meetings.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each had 16 points to lead the Raptors, but their combined total was 13 points under their average.
The Hawks went on a defense-fueled, 14-2 run in the first quarter and increased a 28-20 lead at the end of the period to 37-24 five minutes into the second quarter.
The Raptors were within 47-43 at halftime, however, thanks to a pair of late 3-pointers by Terrence Ross off the bench and nine points in the quarter by Lowry before the Hawks got going again.
Kyle Korver and Teague hit 3-point shots to cap an 8-0 run at the start of the second half, and the Hawks were up 70-57 before the Raptors scored the final six points of the third quarter.
The Hawks scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to go up by 14 points, only to have the Raptors run off 10 straight points and set the stage for a tight finish.
NOTES: F DeMarre Carroll, who left the Hawks this summer to sign as a free agent with the Raptors, played for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Jan. 6. He recorded five points and four steals in 14 minutes. … Hawks F Kent Bazemore sat out because of stiffness in his right knee and was replaced in the starting lineup by F Thabo Safolosha. “It’s not where we want to push the envelope,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said of Bazemore’s soreness. … The Hawks complete the home part of the regular season Saturday against the Boston Celtics. … The Raptors, 9-5 in the second game of back-to-backs, host the Indiana Pacers on Friday.