Atlanta Hawks: Losing Streak Grows To Five Games

The Atlanta Hawks dropped their fifth straight game on Wednesday night. The losing streak continues to grow.

The Atlanta Hawks aren’t having a great week (or month or even year). The losses keep piling up, with no end in sight. Wednesday brought more of the same. The Hawks traveled to Washington D.C., hoping to grab a much needed win against the Washington Wizards.

Early on, it looked as though they would get their wish. For once, it was the opposing team that got off to a rough start. The Hawks led 20-16 after the first quarter. Washington shot just 31.8 percent from the field and 20 percent from outside during the opening quarter, and Atlanta led by as many as 12 points,

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By half-time, Atlanta’s lead had settled at 46-40. It was an ugly offensive half for the Wizards. John Wall failed to score, shooting 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-2 from three-point range.

The Hawks failed to take advantage of Wall’s poor play, however. Their lead should have been much larger than six points.

In the second half, Washington turned things around in a major way. They outscored Atlanta by six points in the third quarter to tie things up heading into the fourth.

Atlanta’s last lead would come with 7:11 left in the game. Markieff Morris‘ two-point jumper would put the Wizards up 79-78 as the halfway mark of the fourth quarter approached. Washington would eventually come away with a 104-100 win, as Atlanta’s offense screeched to a halt down the stretch.

Wall had an enormous second half, finishing with 22 points and 10 assists. He shot just 6-for-21 from the field, but made up for it with a 9-for-12 effort from the free-throw line. Bradley Beal led the Wizards in scoring, dropping 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting.

Wall credited Washington’s defense for the second half turnaround. The following quote comes from the AP’s recap on ESPN.com.

"“Nasty,” said Wall, who was 0 for 8 at halftime. “We knew we just had to keep getting stops, moving the ball. Eventually, we’d start making some shots and we did that.”"

Overall, it was still a rough shooting night for both teams. Washington shot 40 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three-point range. They also committed 19 turnovers. Somehow, the Hawks had an even sloppier performance.

Atlanta shot 39.5 percent from the floor and 32 percent from outside. They committed 16 turnovers, 10 of which came from Dennis Schroder. Schroder had a rough night. He finished with 18 points and six assists, but the 10 turnovers overshadowed everything. His looseness with the ball in crunch-time helped seal Atlanta’s fate.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had a great scoring night. Hardaway scored 29 points on 9-for-16 shooting and 3-for-8 from deep. Dwight Howard had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Thabo Sefolosha scored 10 points and knocked down a pair of three-pointers. Atlanta’s bench struggles continued. Mike Muscala, Kris Humphries, Taurean Prince, Malcolm Delaney, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. finished with a combined plus/minus rating of minus 50.

This makes five losses in a row for the Hawks. Mike Budenholzer somehow remained positive after the game. The following quote comes from the AP’s game recap on ESPN.com.

"“I think learning to play without Paul is important for us,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think there was some progress tonight. And until he comes back, we’re going to have to make more progress.”"

He was also concerned by their recklessness with the ball. The following quotes come from Chris Vivlamore’s recap in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"“In general, we had too many turnovers tonight,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We have to take care of the ball. It felt like a couple times we settled for average shots. We didn’t keep attacking. I think the offensive rebounds, it was a one-point game and they got three or four possession on one possession because of offensive rebounds and then the next time they had the ball they got another offensive rebound. Between not taking care of the ball and not taking care of the defensive rebounds it led to the run.”"

The Hawks continue to lose ground in the Eastern Conference standings. They are still in fifth place, but their lead over the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks has shrunk to just a single game.

Atlanta will face the Bucks on Friday night in Milwaukee. If they lose they’ll find themselves in a tie for fifth place with the Bucks. I’m not sure anyone in Atlanta or Milwaukee could have foreseen that scenario earlier in the month. Things have changed drastically.

Next: Each Atlanta Hawks' Best NCAA Tournament Performance

It might finally be time to panic. Unless Paul Millsap makes a triumphant return sooner rather than later.

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