Hawks hold on to beat Wizards

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- The Wizards are bringing up the rear of the NBA's Southeast Division while the Hawks are trying to catch the Magic at the top of the standings.

Yet it was hard to tell much difference between the two teams for most of Thursday night at the Verizon Center.

Then again, after the Hawks faltered late while losing their past two games they left Washington content with their 105-99 victory, even if wasn’t easy.

“Good teams find a way to win,” said Hawks center Al Horford. “We lost the last two close games, so it feels good to come out on top like this.”

The Hawks couldn’t count on the victory until the final moments.

The Hawks never led by more than seven points through three quarters. They finally surged ahead 95-73 early in the fourth but had to survive Washington’s rally to within four points in the final minute.

The Hawks snapped their two-game losing streak. The Wizards lost their fifth consecutive in a miserable season, but equaled the Hawks’ effort until the end.

The Wizards rank in the bottom third of the league in nearly every offensive category and hadn’t broken 90 points in five consecutive games. It turned out all they needed was a visit from the Hawks to improve their production.

The Wizards shot 49.4 percent and also held a 42-29 rebounding advantage. The Wizards' frontcourt of JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Al Thornton combined for 26 rebounds to 13 for Hawks counterparts Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Horford.

This came after Hawks coach Mike Woodson had stressed defense and rebounding as the key to finishing the season strong.

“It is disappointing,” Woodson said. “We can’t rely on [Smith] and Al to get rebounds. They were lacking in that area tonight [too]. Blatche and McGee had their way on the boards.

“We’ve just got to get better.”

At least the Hawks can do so coming off a victory. That’s due in large part to Jamal Crawford’s hot shooting.

The Hawks needed Crawford’s 29 points and 8-of-16 shooting. He made consecutive 3-pointers to start a 19-7 run that gave the Hawks the 85-73 lead and made four of seven 3-pointers for the game.

“At this point of the season everyone understands what they are supposed to do,” Crawford said. “When they make a run, it’s up to certain guys to step up. That’s a part of my job description.”

The Hawks never could quite shake the Wizards, who got within 94-91 on Randy Foye’s jump shot with 4:10 to play.

Washington trailed 99-93 with two minutes left but the Hawks rebounded Foye’s missed 3-point attempt, and Bibby scored to make it 101-93. McGee’s dunk cut the lead to 101-97, but the Hawks held on.

“Our effort defensively has to pick up for the playoffs,” said Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who scored 18 points. “We’ve been to pretty much the highest level, and we know what it takes. We have to come out and execute and play with effort.”

Horford scored 18 points, and Mike Bibby added 16 for the Hawks, who avoided their second losing streak of as many as three games this season.

“We’ll take it,” Horford said. “They’ve been struggling, but I’ve seen them play close games against good teams. We weren’t taking anything for granted.”