Hawks cruise past Wizards 118-103 behind another strong shooting effort

The Atlanta Hawks were at home tonight to take on the Washington Wizards for their last home game of the regular season. The Hawks are coming off a loss against the Toronto Raptors last night which officially put them in the play-in tournament. For the Wizards, their goal is to get good draft positioning heading into the offseason, but they have played some solid basketball, beating the Timberwolves on Tuesday.

This came wouldn’t be a cakewalk for the Hawks, but they were able to handle business in the second half, defeating the Wizards by a score of 118-103.

Danilo Gallinari returned in this game and gave the Hawks a boost on offense.

The Wizards were very efficient on offense in the first quarter, not missing most of their shots. It took some time for the Hawks to get into a groove, and when they did, they lit the three-point line on fire. They hit four threes in a row, giving them a 29-24 lead.

The Hawks continued their hot shooting to end the quarter, leading 40-31 heading into the second. The Wizards didn’t back off in the second and strung together a few good possessions from Kristaps Porzingis to tie the game.

Whatever momentum the Hawks had at first was gone, and it was a back and forth match between both teams. Clint Capela was active around the paint in the second quarter.

Trae Young was able to find Capela in the final seconds of the half with a tip-in alley-top to give the Hawks a 67-65 lead going into halftime.

The Hawks continued to go to what worked for them in the first half, which was feeding the big man.

The Hawks stayed consistent throughout the third quarter, keeping the lead against the Wizards and not surrendering it. De’Andre Hunter was aggressive taking to the paint for the and-1 finish.

Young was able to get it going to finish the third, scoring 14 points in the last 126 seconds of the quarter. His scoring run gave the Hawks a 95-83 lead going into the fourth, their biggest of the game.

Bogdanovic came in and hit two threes early in the fourth.

The Hawks bench was able to sustain the lead through the fourth, and Gallinari came in and hit some big shots to help.

With five minutes remaining, Young looked to put the finishing touches on the game with his third triple of the game. That three increased the Hawks lead to 18 points.

With 1:30 left, McMillan cleared the bench as the Hawks secured the 118-103 victory.

Young finished with 30 points and 11 assists, Gallinari finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Capela finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Bogdanovic finished with 18 points.

The Hawks will be in Miami on Friday to face the Heat.