Lou Williams scored eight of his 17 points during an early fourth-quarter surge, helping the host Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-100 victory Wednesday night over the sliding Atlanta Hawks.

Elton Brand had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Thaddeus Young added 16 points off the bench for the 76ers (37-34), who have won three of four and moved within 2 ½ games of the Hawks for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Josh Smith had 33 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks (40-32), who have lost seven of 10, including a 114-81 thrashing by Chicago on Tuesday.

The Hawks led 77-66 after a jumper by Smith with 3:17 left in the third period, but Williams closed the quarter with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 80-74 entering the fourth.

Williams scored eight points during a 15-2 run to open the fourth and provide Philadelphia an 89-82 lead with 6:58 left. He was fouled on a 3-point shoot and drained all three free throws, and later added a three-point play during the burst. Atlanta never really threatened thereafter.