Washington Wizards take control late after dismal start
The Washington Wizards pick up a much-needed win at home Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks as they continue to surge to the postseason.
Behind a 14-4 fourth quarter run, the Washington Wizards squeeze past the Atlanta Hawks 104-100 as the Hawks up their losing streak to five.
The Washington Wizards got off to a disastrous start, scoring just 16 first quarter points against the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night in a nationally televised game.
John Wall, who expressed his displeasure over the Wizards not receiving enough national exposure, was scoreless in the first half for just the sixth time in his career. However, the 26-year-old All-Star point guard wasn’t bothered by his ineffective first half, scoring 22 points in the second half and finishing with, yet, another double-double with 10 assists.
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Bradley Beal added a team-high 28 points and was one rebound shy of recording his second double-double of the season. Beal hauled in a career-high 12 rebounds in 2013 against the Denver Nuggets.
The Hawks were in cruise control for most of the game and jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening quarter as the Wizards finished with just 16 first quarter points. The Wizards continued to struggle in the second quarter, shooting just 36 percent from the field as Wall went scoreless.
Things slowly started to trend in the right direction for the Wizards in the third quarter as they shot 40.9 percent from the field. The Wizards saved their best play for the last quarter as Wall and Beal combined for 18 fourth quarter point and combined for 50 points to lift the Wizards past the Hawks.
With the victory, the Wizards gained their 43rd win of the season and remain in sole possession of the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Next, the Wizards welcome the Brooklyn Nets to Verizon Center in hopes to begin a new winning streak as the NBA playoffs inch closer.
Following Friday’s game against Brooklyn, the Wizards begin a five game road trip which starts against the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers. Maybe the Wizards get lucky and they catch the “tired” Cavaliers, meaning LeBron James sits out to rest as he laughs with his teammates on the bench.
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The road trip also includes their second west coast trip which features games against some of the Western Conference heavy weights including the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors.