Atlanta Hawks Fall To Washington Wizards
The Atlanta Hawks battled the red-shot Washington Wizards on Friday night. Did they come out on top?
After an exhilarating road win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks returned to Phillips Arena on Friday. Welcoming them home was a difficult opponent in the 25-20 Washington Wizards.
After starting the season poorly the Wizards have turned things around in a huge away. They’ve gone 18-7 since Dec. 6, going from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the 5th seed. All of the sudden, Washington is a serious contender to unseat Atlanta at the top of the Southeast Division.
The Wizards got off to a great start in this contest. At the end of the first quarter they would hold a 37-25 lead. Washington shot 5-for-10 from behind the arc and got 10 points from both Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Atlanta’s outside shooting kept the quarter from being a complete drubbing. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a pair of three-pointers in the quarter, while Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore each made one.
It only got worse from there. By half-time Washington’s lead had grown to 67-45. I wish that I could say that after half-time the Hawks pulled themselves together and staged a ferocious comeback. I cannot say that because it would be a huge lie.
The Wizards controlled the second half as well, coming away with a 112-86 victory. It was complete domination. Washington shot 48.3 percent on the night, and 41.9 percent from three-point range.
They got stellar performances from several key players. John Wall finished with 19 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Bradley Beal added 15 points and four assists, while Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris each dropped 15 points.
The player to watch from our preview led the way for the Wizards. Otto Porter Jr. showed why he’s going to get paid this summer. Porter finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists on 7-for-11 shooting and 5-for-7 from three-point range.
The Hawks could do nothing to slow down Washington’s lights out offense, and they couldn’t score themselves. Atlanta shot 36.1 percent from the floor and 29 percent from outside. In our preview we said that Dennis Schroder’s play would set the tone for the rest of the team. It was a tough night for Schroder.
Schroder had extreme difficulty with Wall. Wall’s quickness and length really slowed him down. Schroder settled for difficult jumpers all night. Schroder finished with nine points, five assists, and four turnovers on 4-for-11 shooting.
Paul Millsap also had a rough evening, finishing with four points on 1-for-7 shooting. Dwight Howard was the only Hawks starter to shoot above 50 percent from the floor. Howard had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Kent Bazemore led Atlanta in scoring with 15 points.
Millsap spoke to the media after the game about Atlanta’s slow start.
"“I have no idea,” Paul Millsap said when asked the reason for a slow start. “It happened so fast. It wasn’t anything they did. We just came out lackadaisical. We didn’t give them any resistance. They were able to go wherever they wanted to go. Shoot wherever they wanted to shoot. It’s more on us than them.”"
The Hawks return to action on Sunday afternoon against the New York Knicks.