PHILADELPHIA - Jimmy Butler had 30 fateful - and forgettable - seconds in the fourth quarter Friday night.
The Philadelphia 76ers' star guard lost the ball in a tie game on a drive down the lane that led to the Atlanta Hawks' John Collins finding separation and burying a fadeaway jumper with 25 seconds left for the lead.
Butler had a chance at atonement - he was 12-for-12 at the free-throw line and had two shots with 2.4 seconds left.
First shot, rattle and miss. Second shot, clang off the back of the rim.
Wilson Chandler slipped under the basket on the second attempt and missed an easy tip-in at the horn that helped the Hawks hang on to beat the 76ers, 123-121.
"I hope we're still together," Butler said. "Nobody pointing fingers at anybody."
There were at least a few raised eyebrows after the hapless Hawks, who are just 13-29, sent the Sixers to just their fourth home loss of the season. The Sixers struggled with All-Star center Joel Embiid out with a sore ankle. He leads the team with averages of 26.9 points and 13.4 rebounds in 40 games, and the Hawks pounced with him off the court.
Atlanta crushed the Sixers with 62 points in the paint and outrebounded Philly 44-30.
The Hawks were happy to capitalize and hit 12 3s and shot 56 percent overall from the floor. Collins scored 25 points and Kevin Huerter hit five 3s as he led the Hawks with 29 points.
"I had a pretty good rhythm in the fourth quarter, and we just kind of kept running plays that were working for us," Huerter said.
Butler led the Sixers with 30 points and Ben Simmons had 23 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
"You can start all over the place and whether it's Joel or not Joel, you know we should be better defensively," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "It's where we anchored our program and at the moment, we are poor. Right now, lately, we have been poor."
The game turned into a 3-point shootout late - the teams combined for 23 makes, including seven in the fourth.
J.J. Redick, who missed the previous two games with a sore back, led a comeback in the fourth with a pair of 3-pointers that tied the game each time. T.J. McConnell put the 76ers ahead by one with 2:39 left, but Huerter buried a 3 to tie it at 121.
Butler had his first major miscue when he lost the ball on a drive down the lane that was recovered by Atlanta. Collins hit the jumper, and that was enough for the lowly Hawks.
"We've just got to fix it," Butler said. "I think we're going to be fine. All I know is, everybody's in there. We're in it together. We're not going separate ways."
Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce had a homecoming of sorts after spending five years on Brown's staff in Philadelphia. Pierce said he owed Brown so much for helping him become a head coach. Brown said Pierce was one of his first hires as "The Process" began in 2013.
"It is not a me versus them, it's still us. It's about us," Pierce said.