NBA: Atlanta 112, Philadelphia 93

ATLANTA, March 3 (UPI) -- Marvin Williams hit 8-of-12 shots from the field Wednesday and helped open the game in the third quarter, leading Atlanta to a 112-93 win over Philadelphia.

The Hawks won their third straight and kept pace with Orlando in the race for the top spot in the Southeast Division. Orlando leads Atlanta by two games.

Atlanta owned a six-point lead early in the third but closed the quarter with a 19-point advantage. Williams scored 21 points, Jamal Crawford had 20 and Joe Johnson 18. The Hawks shot 51 percent from the field and made 8-of-20 from 3-point range.

Johnson moved within three points of reaching 12,000 for his career.

Philadelphia, which has lost four in a row, was paced by Lou Williams with 30 points. Rookie Jrue Holiday, who scored a career-best 23 in his most recent outing, had only four against the Hawks.