LEAD: McGrady's big finish helps Hawks hand Heat first loss of season

By Paul Levine Jan 3, 2012, 7:23 GMT

Los Angeles - Tracy McGrady doesn't start anymore, but the former two-time NBA scoring champ still knows how to finish.

McGrady erupted for 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and the Atlanta Hawks handed the Miami Heat its first loss of the season, 100-92 on Monday night.

'I'm a competitor. I'm always up for competing against the best,' said McGrady, a seven-time All-Star selection. LeBron (James) and Dwyane (Wade) seem to bring out the best in me and shots were falling tonight.'

Joe Johnson netted 21 points, Al Horford had 16 and Jeff Teague finished with 15 for the Hawks (4-1), who outscored their hosts 33-21 in the final frame.

'This game was big,' Teague said. 'Everybody had a collective effort in stepping up and playing big.'

James topped all scorers with 28 points, Chris Bosh had 19 while Dwyane Wade contributed 12 on a miserable 4-of-17 shooting along with 10 assists for Miami, which opened the season with a franchise record 5-0 mark.

'It's disappointing any time you don't win,' said rookie guard Norris Cole. 'It's not the end of the world. We're going to come back, prepare and get ready for the next game.'

The high-flying Heat was coming off a 129-90 blowout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday night. After Miami got off to a quick start, Atlanta slowed things down by switching to an effective zone defence.

'They clearly succeeded in slowing the tempo of the game down and we never were able to get into a clean, comfortable, aggressive rhythm,' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Trailing 71-67 heading into the final frame, the Hawks took an 82-74 advantage after McGrady and Jannero Pargo drilled back-to-back three-pointers with 7:12 left to play.

Miami closed to within 82-78, but Johnson buried a three-pointer making it 87-80. After the Heat pulled to 90-84, Josh Smith threw down a dunk off lob pass from McGrady out of a timeout. McGrady then drained consecutive triples to seal the win.

'Return of the Mac,' said Johnson of McGrady's heroics. 'He was very impressive down the stretch. That's what he's known for, making big shots.'

Elsewhere: Dallas Mavericks 100, Oklahoma City Thunder 87: German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, Shawn Marion added 17 and the struggling but reigning NBA champion Mavericks sent the Thunder to its first setback of the season.

Kevin Durant, whose last second three-pointer beat the Mavs last week, scored 27 points for Oklahoma City, which dropped to 5-1.

Minnesota Timberwolves 106, San Antonio Spurs 96: Kevin Love collected 24 points with 15 rebounds, and the Timberwolves snapped a 16-game slide to the visiting Spurs, who lost Argentine All-Star guard Manu Ginobili to a broken left hand in the second quarter.

Toronto Raptors 90, New York Knicks 85: Italy's Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points apiece, and the Raptors ended a three-game slide after holding off a second-half charge by the Knicks.

Carmelo Anthony scored 35 but missed a potential game-tying three in the closing seconds for the host Knicks, who without Amar'e Stoudemire (left ankle sprain), nearly erased a 17-point halftime deficit.

Indiana Pacers 108, New Jersey Nets 94: Paul George scored 21 points with five threes, and the Pacers (4-1) never trailed in sending the Nets (1-5) to their fifth straight loss.

Boston Celtics 100, Washington Wizards 92: Ray Allen scored 11 of his 27 points in the final quarter, Paul Pierce added 21, and the host Celtics dropped the Wizards to 0-5 this season despite a game-high 28 by Andray Blatche.

Utah Jazz 94, New Orleans Hornets 90: Al Jefferson scored 22 points, Devin Harris added 19 and the Jazz overcame game-highs of 27 points and 11 assists by Jarrett Jack to hand the visiting Hornets their third straight loss.

Denver Nuggets 91, Milwaukee Bucks 86: Italian-native Danilo Gallinari had 21 points with 10 rebounds, and the Nuggets rallied past the visiting Bucks.

Phoenix Suns 102, Golden State Warriors 91: Steve Nash scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the final quarter, helping the Suns shade the visiting Warriors.

Detroit Pistons 89, Orlando Magic 78: Ben Gordon scored 26 points and the Pistons (2-3) stopped the visiting Magic's four-game-winning streak.