It's a faulty assumption, ESPN is told, to presume that Hawks free agent-to-be Al Harrington is certain to be dealt between now and the Feb. 23 trade deadline.

With the Hawks possessing the salary-cap flexibility next summer to match or trump any offers Harrington gets, they haven't abandoned the idea of extending the relationship. NBA front-office sources thus say that Atlanta won't part with the swingman before the deadline unless A) the trade fills a clear need and B) the trade delivers a first-round pick or two to replace the first-rounders that went out in the Joe Johnson extravaganza.

Letting Harrington finish the season in Atlanta would put the Hawks at risk for losing an asset without compensation, so his name will continue to circulate in trade scenarios. Yet the Hawks figure that, if they can't re-sign Harrington or even if they elect not to, they'll have opportunities in the summer to participate in a sign-and-trade to prevent losing him for nothing.

It's a stance that apparently helped convince Atlanta to withdraw from the original three-way deal that would have landed Ron Artest in Denver. The Pacers had some hesitation about acquiring Harrington, because the financial constraints in Indy these days would have made it tough to keep Harrington around, but the Hawks also decided that a package of Nene and Earl Watson wasn't sufficiently enticing given Watson's long-term contract and the absence of picks.

The Hawks, furthermore, will have a decent shot at signing Nene in the summer without giving up anything now for the injured Brazilian, who'll be a restricted free agent.

Primoz Brezec made the go-ahead basket in the final seconds and Knight scored 22 points as the Bobcats beat the Atlanta Hawks 93-90 on Tuesday night.

Knight liked how his team held together without Kareem Rush and Emeka Okafor, two of the Bobcats' top three scorers.

"There was no breakdown," Knight said. "That's the NBA lead. Teams make runs. We knew that they would make a run. They got their fans into it, and we weren't making any shots."

The Bobcats improved to 4-11 on the road, but they have won three consecutive away games and three of four overall.

Reserves Bernard Robinson and Keith Bogans each scored 13 points for Charlotte, which snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak at home.

No matter how many shots he took, Allen Iverson couldn't beat the Atlanta Hawks by himself.

Iverson scored 53 points, the fifth-highest total of his career, but Joe Johnson had 24 to lead the Hawks over the Philadelphia 76ers 111-108 on Friday night.

"I'm as disappointed as everybody else on my team," Iverson said. "We wanted to go into the holidays with a win. We'll have to get this one out of our system and come back to work."

Zaza Pachulia added a career-high 23 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Al Harrington scored 22 for Atlanta, which won its fourth straight at home and its fifth in the last seven games overall.

"We shared the ball," Pachulia said. "We had 29 assists, and that's great. We shot pretty good also, 54 percent. It's tough to beat a team like that."

NBA leading scorer Allen Iverson did not travel with the Philadelphia 76ers to Atlanta on Thursday because of family reasons, but is expected to play against the Hawks on Friday night.

Iverson, who averages a league-best 33.5 points, did not practice on Thursday.

The Atlantic Division-leading Sixers (14-12) begin a 15-day, seven-game road trip in Atlanta.

Kobe Bryant, who averaged 33.8 points in leading his team to a 3-1 record, was named the National Basketball Association's Western Conference player of the week.

Bryant, who also averaged 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals, recorded his fourth and fifth 40-point performances of the season.

It was the second player of the week award this season for Bryant, who also earned it in the first week.

Eastern Conference honors went to Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who averaged 25.3 points - including a career-high 36 in a 122-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday - 7.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds.

Johnson helped Atlanta go 3-1 - its first winning week since the 2003-04 season.

One scenario from within the league involves Denver sending Earl Watson and Nene to Atlanta, the Hawks sending Al Harrington to the Pacers and Indiana shipping Artest to the Nuggets.

Another scenario substitutes the Los Angeles Clippers' Corey Maggette for Watson and Nene. Lower-salaried Pacers like guard Anthony Johnson or former Colorado center David Harrison could also be involved to fit league
salary-cap restrictions.

Atlanta general manager Billy Knight would not comment on the rumors when approached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Vandeweghe would not discuss specifics, either.

"There's always been speculation on all our players," he said. "All that says is they are valuable and people like them. That's what I tell our players. ... To me most of the time speculation is OK because of the interest from fans, but not when it affects players and the way they are playing. Hopefully, it doesn't do that."

At least so far, Vandeweghe does not have to worry about Watson's feelings.

The guard, who has been the subject of trade rumors almost from the day he signed with Denver, has averaged 15 points in his past three games with fellow point guard Earl Boykins sidelined with a hamstring injury.

When the Atlanta Hawks started the season by losing 16 of their first 18 games, the popular theory was that head coach Mike Woodson, a former 76ers assistant during Larry Brown's final two seasons, was on the chopping block.

But Hawks general manager Billy Knight scuttled that talk on Saturday when he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Woody is not getting fired. Woody is our coach."

Later that night, the Hawks defeated the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. They followed it up with a victory Tuesday night at Cleveland, impressive back-to-back wins for the embattled coach.

"I think the players probably needed to hear it," Woodson said of Knight's comments, before his team's game last night against the Sixers. "I don't really concern myself with things like that. You're paid to do a job. Surely you've got to win in this league to survive as a coach, and I know that.

"... I've got to get these guys ready to play, so I can't let [the losing] distract me. Billy did step up and made that statement so everybody in this organization knows what's going on."

Woodson, who went 13-69 last season as a rookie coach with the Hawks, said the key to the two successive victories was getting solid 48-minute performances from his team.

Jermaine O'Neal feels betrayed. The cocaptain of the Indiana Pacers feels tired. He said that having to deal with the latest, and he hopes last, Ron Artest flap has been ''like a slap in the face" because no one had Artest's back more than he did.

Whether it was tolerating Artest's daily zaniness or coming to his defense in the utter chaos of Nov. 19, 2004, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, ''I was the guy who stood up for him. I was the guy who vouched for him," O'Neal said in a lengthy discourse on Artest's absence and Artest's trade demand prior to last night's 85-71 loss to the Celtics.

''I don't hate him as a person. I wish him the best of luck," O'Neal said. ''I hope he achieves what he wants elsewhere. But as a player who has been there for him and been involved in certain situations with him, and for him, you expect more. But life isn't about getting what you want. Sometimes you have to deal with harder situations. This is harder to accept. I accepted it. I lost a lot. I have stepped up and vouched for him. Ron Artest doesn't matter to me as a teammate."

O'Neal, the Pacers' leading scorer and rebounder (he had 14 points and 10 rebounds last night), and best and highest-paid player, said he has two people in mind who would be more than suitable replacements for Artest: former teammate Al Harrington, now with Atlanta, and Bonzi Wells, now with Sacramento. Artest was not with the Pacers last night and Indiana president Donnie Walsh is fielding calls about him. Something could break today, when most players, such as Wells, who signed deals or were traded over the summer, can be relocated.

Harrington would be a natural, O'Neal surmised, because of his familiarity with the system and the team. Harrington spent the first six years of his career with the Pacers before being traded to the Hawks in the summer of 2004 for Stephen Jackson. And, O'Neal added, ''If it doesn't work out this year, [his salary] comes off the books."

As for Wells, O'Neal said, ''He fits in with what we do. We have a defensive-oriented team. He's a 6-6, 6-7 body who can play two different positions and thinks defense first. You deal [for] a player like that, it's easy for him to fit in, rather than a player who thinks offense first or pass, pass, or [dribbles] between the legs. We're not that type of team. There's been a lot of talk about [Peja] Stojakovic and I would definitely accept him with open arms. But if I had a preference, it would be Al or Bonzi Wells."

Hawks co-captain Al Harrington has heard all the trade rumors that have him swapping locker room spaces with Pacers All-Star forward Ron Artest, his former locker room neighbor in Indiana. And he's not buying any of it, since there has been no contact by either side.

"It's all just Internet talk and stuff thrown around by newspaper guys," said Harrington, who was drafted by the Pacers and spent the first six seasons of his career in Indiana.

Since the Pacers' All-star forward requested a trade over the weekend the Pacers have made it clear that they intend to try and accommodate Artest's request. And the logical connections for Harrington are hard to ignore. He and Artest have nearly matching salaries, both will earn about $6.8 million this season. Harrington and Pacers All-star forward Jermaine O'Neal are best friends.

"I've heard it all and all of it is just talk," Harrington said.

Cavaliers All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed Tuesday night's game against Atlanta with a sprained right knee.

Ilgauskas, averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, said his knee is sore from general wear and tear. He's hoping to return for Thursday night's game against Denver.

"I hope so," said Ilgauskas, who believed he aggravated the injury when he got clipped from behind in Saturday night's loss at Milwaukee. "I've never had any problems with my knee before, so I don't know how it's going to react. It has been building up all season."

Alan Henderson started for Ilgauskas against the Hawks.