Washington —- The hand clapping began with about 11 seconds to play, coach Mike Woodson applauding his team's effort in what might turn out to be a turning-point game if the Hawks are able to crash the playoff party for the first time in eight seasons.

Either way, the Hawks' 105-96 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night at Verizon Center was played with the kind of intensity that will be needed over the final month of the regular season.

And it couldn't come at a better time for the Hawks, 29-38 and winners of three straight games heading into Wednesday's game in New Jersey, another team they're battling for playoff position.

"We're fighting right now, we're playing for something," Woodson said after his team won back-to-back road games for the first time since wins at Miami and Minnesota in late November. "We're in the hunt with teams like New Jersey, Indiana, Washington and Chicago, trying to secure a playoff spot. Every second, every minute you're out on the floor, you've got to play it like it's your last."

What didn't the Hawks do in dominating the Wizards, basically from start to finish?

They shot a sterling 55 percent (41-for-74) from the floor and 53 percent (8-for-15) from beyond the 3-point line. They piled up 25 assists, outrebounded the Wizards 40-34, turned the ball over just 11 times and controlled the action down the stretch with Mike Bibby directing traffic.

He led five Hawks in double figures with a team-high 23 points, including a 5-for-6 showing from the 3-point line.

"We need all of them," Bibby said of the Hawks' final 15 games of the season. "We shot the ball well tonight, and you have nights like that sometimes. But we won it; that's all that matters."

Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson has been preaching for weeks about the need for his team to play with the urgency fitting a desperate playoff contender. And he's started to see some of that during the Hawks' three-game winning streak.

"There are no guarantees for us, so we have to play every game like it's our last," said Johnson, who finished with 18 points, 10 assists and four rebounds. "That's what it's down to for us. And these last three games have been great for us. I think the winning has energized some guys and really helped us focus."

The Hawks' focus was never better than during the fourth quarter, with the Wizards charging back from a 10-point deficit (89-79) with just more than nine minutes to play.

They got as close as four, 96-92 with 4:40 to play, but an Al Horford layup and a jumper from Johnson helped push the lead back to eight. And the Hawks never allowed the Wizards to get closer than six the rest of the way.

"I really think that Clippers game gave us confidence," Horford said after dominating the Wizards inside with 12 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. "We went out there and dominated and won, and I felt like we carried that over to New York [Sunday]. And then we needed this one tonight, and everybody answered the call. I think we're starting to figure it out and maybe we can get some momentum going now."

NEXT FOR HAWKS

> Who: at Nets

> When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

> TV; radio: Fox Sports Net; 790 AM