Los Angeles - The red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers were looking to go where no team in franchise history had gone before, but the Atlanta Hawks had other ideas.

Mike Bibby scored 24 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer down the stretch, and Marvin Williams hit a pair of game-sealing free throws with 2.9 seconds left, as the Hawks denied the Cavaliers their first-ever 12-game winning streak, with a 97-92 home-court victory on Saturday night.

"This win is very important," said Hawks All-Star guard Joe Johnson, who netted 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.

"You're talking about a team who has won 14 or 15 straight games, and to put up a fight the way we did was great. It showed a lot about our character and how we've grown."

LeBron James" had 33 points with nine assists, while Mo Williams scored 26 for Cleveland (20-4) which lost for the first time since dropping a 96-89 road decision to Detroit on November 19.

"We didn't expect to win every game and go 79-3," James said. "We played hard, but the Hawks are a pretty good team. They executed well down the stretch and they got more stops at the end than we did."

The Cavaliers climbed out 14-point first half hole to take short- lived 90-89 lead on two free throws by James with 2:33 left.

However, Bibby buried the go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing, and Johnson followed with a fade-away jumper to give the Hawks a 94-90 advantage with 1:40 remaining.

After James made a driving layup, the Cavaliers missed a chance to take the lead, when Delonte West had his 3-point try from the left corner swatted into the stands by Josh Smith.

When Marvin Williams missed the second of two free throws, the Cavaliers had another opportunity to forge a tie, but Mo Williams and West bounced 3-pointers off the rim in the waning seconds. Marvin Williams grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit both free throws to wrap up the win.

"I didn't think we had good composure down the stretch," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "Atlanta was ready for us. We had our chances, but we just didn't get it done."

Elsewhere in the NBA:

Dallas Mavericks 103, Oklahoma City Thunder 99

German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki fired in a season-high 46 points, including a key 3-pointer in a decisive 6-0 run down the stretch, and Jason Terry added 28, rallying the host Mavericks to their 11th win in the last 13 games.

Jeff Green led league-worst Oklahoma City (2-22) with 25 points and Kevin Durant added 22.

Philadelphia 76ers 104, Washington Wizards 89

Elton Brand scored a season-high 27 points, Samuel Dalembert grabbed 17 rebounds, and Tony DiLeo made a successful coaching debut, hours after the 76rs fired Maurice Cheeks. Antawn Jamison led Eastern Conference-worst Washington (4-17) with 19 points.

Detroit Pistons 90, Charlotte Bobcats 86

Allen Iverson scored 20 points, and Rasheed Wallace buried a 3- pointer with 10 seconds remaining as the Pistons escaped the Bobcats after blowing all but one of a 28-point third-quarter cushion. Gerald Wallace had 22 points for Charlotte (7-17) losers of six in a row.

Chicago Bulls 113, New Jersey Nets 104

Ben Gordon tossed in 29 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, and Derrick Rose added 22 as the Bulls outscored the visiting Nets, 38-24 in the decisive final quarter to pull away.

One night after scoring just three points on 0-for-13 field goal shooting, All-Star guard Vince Carter had 39, on 11-of-22 from the floor for New Jersey (11-11) which dropped its third in a row.

Milwaukee Bucks 121, Indiana Pacers 103

Michael Redd scored 27 points, Australian Andrew Bogut collected 20 with 20 rebounds, and the host Bucks regrouped after blowing a 21- point lead.

Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva netted 26 points while Richard Jefferson had eight of his 20 in a game-sealing 19-0 run in the final 3:40 after the Bucks fell behind 103-102. T.J. Ford tallied 27 points for Indiana (7-16) losers of six straight.

Orlando Magic 103, Utah Jazz 94

Rashard Lewis scored 27 points, Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu added 23 and the Magic overcame the absence of injured All-Star centre Dwight Howard (left knee) to beat the Jazz.

Russian Andrei Kirilenko and Deron Williams scored 17 points apiece for host Utah (15-10) which was outscored 34-12 in the decisive third quarter.

Denver Nuggets 123, Golden State Warriors 105

Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points while Chauncey Billups had 16 with 11 assists, carrying the Nuggets to their third straight win.

Jamal Crawford had 25 points Rob Kurz added 20 points for the slumping Warriors (7-17) losers in 11 of their last 13 outings.

LA Clippers 95, Houston Rockets 82

Zach Randolph had 30 points with 13 rebounds, Al Thornton scored 26, and the Clippers (6-17) posted back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

China's Yao Ming collected 24 points and 13 rebounds for the visiting Rockets (15-9) who had won 19 of the previous 22 match-ups.

New York Knicks 114, Sacramento Kings 90

Al Harrington scored 33 points, David Lee had 17 with 19 rebounds and the visiting Knicks sent the struggling Kings to their 10th loss in the past 11 games.

John Salmons scored 14 points for Sacramento (6-18) which trailed 43-21 after one.