The Atlanta Hawks wrap up an exhausting four games in five nights stretch with a 108-101 loss to the Washington Wizards. Atlanta came in shorthanded and fell behind early but never quit competing and made a charge in the second half. However, some long distance marksmanship by the Wizards was enough to keep the Hawks at bay.
The Wizards jumped out of the gate quickly and playing from behind is never easy especially when you are shorthanded and finishing off a grueling stretch of the schedule. At any rate the Hawks hung in there during the first half falling behind by as many as 11 points but scoring just enough to stay within striking distance.
It looked like the Wizards might put the Hawks away in the third as the lead ballooned to as many as 18 points. Paul Millsap wouldn't allow the Hawks to go away quietly scoring a team-high 23 points including four three-pointers. The Hawks charged back and got as close as two points in the fourth but weren't ever able to finish off the run.
In most instances Washington always had an answer and that usually came in the form of a made three-pointer that was set up off of a nice feed from John Wall. The Wizards went 12-24 from downtown and Wall finished with 26 points, 12 assists and five steals to set the pace.
Al Horford hit 7-13 shots to finish with 16 points. Jeff Teague added 15 and five assists but was just 5-18 from the field. Cartier Martin started in place of the injured Kyle Korver who missed his third straight game with bruised ribs and finished with 12 points. Shelvin Mack and DeMarre Carroll added 11 points each.
Trevor Ariza hit five threes and provided some nice support for Wall with 24 points. Martell Webster also hit five threes and added 19 points of his own. Nene shook off a sore Achilles to finish with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Hawks who will play their fifth game in seven days on Monday while making their second trip to Texas in a week to take on the San Antonio Spurs.