Woodson and Smith feud again; Hawks lose again

Charlotte — What began as a promising week in Washington got downright nasty in Charlotte on Friday night after turning ugly in New York on Wednesday night.

The Hawks lost their second consecutive game to a sub-.500 opponent, dropping a 98-91 decision to the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.

They also lost more ground in the race for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Their lead over Miami is now just a half a game.

And Hawks coach Mike Woodson benched starting power forward Josh Smith after halftime, the result of a heated disagreement between the two in the locker room during the break.

Smith refused to comment after the game, and Woodson said it was a “coach’s decision” and that Smith’s status for tonight’s game against Detroit would be determined later.

“That was coach’s call,” Hawks captain Joe Johnson said. “This is coach’s team. Whoever he wants to play plays, and if he doesn’t want you to play, you don’t play.”

Smith had 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks before leaving the game after playing only 21 minutes. But whatever transpired in the time it took the Hawks to get in and out of the locker room after halftime, changed everything.

“Josh played well in the first half,” Mo Evans said. “It didn’t have nothing to do with his basketball playing abilities. It’s the off-the-court, internal stuff that causes all the drama.”

The Hawks (34-28) can’t afford any more drama, not with their season teetering on the brink and their chances of hosting a first-round playoff series fading fast.

They begin a seven-game homestand against the Pistons, and they’ll do so knowing that they need to rebuild their cushion over Miami, the Pistons and Philadelphia for the fourth spot.

“This is tough because we had a chance to put ourselves in a good position, and we gave two games away,” Johnson said. “I don’t know. I think we all need to get on the same page. But it’s kind of tough to play when the chemistry is not there, and we’re not playing as one.”

If they can’t muster any more energy or any better effort than they did against the Bobcats on Friday night, they won’t have to worry about the fourth spot much longer.

The Bobcats controlled the action from the start, working inside out in the first quarter to build a 15-point lead before the end of the quarter.

Former Hawks swingman Boris Diaw served as the facilitator for the Bobcats, who run their offense through their starting power forward.

Diaw finished with a game-high 13 assists to go with his 13 points and five rebounds. The Bobcats (27-35) led by as many as 18 before withstanding a late Hawks rally to avoid being swept in a season series by the Hawks for the first time.

“It’s just been a lack of effort,” Evans said. “We play in spurts, and you can’t do that if you want to be a contender at any level. You see how it is. We get down and dig ourselves a hole. And you have to bank on too many things to go the right way to get it back.

“And that’s the difference between the elite teams in the league and the teams like us that are inconsistent. One day we’re there, and the next day we’re not. If we can overcome that challenge before this thing ends and finally start to get it, we might have a chance to hold on that fourth or fifth spot. If not, well, I don’t know what else to tell you.”