Hawks win third straight game, defeat Wizards 134-116

The Atlanta Hawks were at home on Wednesday evening to take on the Washington Wizards. The Hawks were able to secure their third straight win, defeating the Wizards 132-116.

With the Hawks looking to stay in the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, every game from now on is crucial. The Wizards have rested their main starters through the past few games, so the Hawks definitely had the advantage coming in.

Trae Young came back after missing last night’s game with a non-COVID illness. It looks like he didn't miss a beat after drilling this three.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth contest, as nobody really pulled away. The bench came in midway through the quarter and gave the Hawks a boost, with AJ Griffin and Jalen Johnson stepping up.

Johnson continued his strong play from last night, making plays on both sides of the ball.

No matter what the Hawks did, the Wizards made sure to stay close and keep it at a one-score game. It wasn't until late into the second quarter that the Hawks started to pull away, with Clint Capela going on a mini-scoring run.

Young found John Collins for this beautiful no-look pass.

Going into halftime, the Hawks led 67-60. Coming into the third quarter, the Hawks increased their lead. Collins got it going for the Hawks dunking the ball and hitting threes.

The Hawks led by as much as 16 points in the third quarter. The backcourt two played hot potato which led to an easy layup for the Murray.

The Hawks continued to pile on the points through the third, leading 106-90 heading into the fourth. It didn’t stop there, and the Hawks started draining threes, extending their lead to 21 points in the quarter.

From there, it was all Hawks and they walked away with the victory.

Young finished with 25 points and 16 assists, Collins finished with 23 points, Murray finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Johnson and Griffin both finished with 16 points.

The Hawks will be back on Friday to play the Philadelphia 76ers.