Hawks rally from 20 down in final 8 minutes vs. Rockets

Eric Gordon's 3-pointer with 8:26 remaining in Thursday's game against the Atlanta Hawks gave the Houston Rockets a 97-77 lead. It was also the beginning of his team's downfall.

Beginning with a DeAndre' Bembry layup 11 seconds later - and spurred largely by an unexpected explosion from Tim Hardaway Jr. - Atlanta's lineup of Bembry, Hardaway, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, and Malcolm Delaney outscored the Rockets 36-11 over the game's final 8:15, giving the Hawks a stunning 113-108 win.

Hardaway single-handedly outscored Houston 23-14 over the last 8:41.

Related: Hardaway's huge dunk caps 23-point 4th quarter

With All-Star big man Paul Millsap watching the final period from the bench in what looked like a run-of-the-mill blowout loss, the Hawks combined to shoot 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) during their nearly nine-minute, 17-possession rally, holding the Rockets to 4-of-17 shooting (23.5 percent) during that time.

Howard, who received a mixed reaction from the Rockets crowd, poured in 24 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal on 11-of-13 shooting in his return to Houston.