This one is on the Hawks.
Atlanta suffered through a miserable shooting night in a 95-92 loss to Washington Friday night at the Verizon Center.
The Hawks shot 38.6 percent from the field for their second straight loss. Coaches and players credited the hot-shooting of the Lakers for a defeat Wednesday. There should be no such excuse for this loss.
The Hawks (3-2) were 32 of 83 from the field, including a woeful 5 of 25 from 3-point range. Starters Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore combined for three points as they missed all but one 16 shots, including nine from 3-point range. To add insult to injury, the Hawks shot just 64 percent from the free-throw line.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points, the Hawks pulled to within two at 78-76 with 7:10 left when Malcolm Delaney hit a corner 3-pointer. The Hawks also trailed by two points as late as 4:35 left at 84-82. However, the Wizards scored the next five points, including a Bradley Beal 3-pointer. After going up by eight points, the Hawks closed again. Korver hit his 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to pull the Hawks within three points, 95-92. After a Wizards miss, the Hawks had the ball with 11.7 seconds left and called a timeout. A Korver 3-pointer missed and the Wizards controlled the ball with 3.6 seconds remaining.
Dwight Howard led the Hawks with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Dennis Schroder added 20 points. Paul Millsap had 14 points but it came on 4 of 12 shooting.
The Wizards (1-3) were led by Beal with a game-high 28 points and John Wall with 21 points as they avenged a season-opening loss to the Hawks. All but eight of the Wizards’ points from the starters.
The Hawks troubles began from the start. They missed their first nine shots. They trailed 48-35 at halftime. Their point total through two quarters was less than the 37 points they scored in the first quarter against the Lakers on Wednesday. When the Wizards opened a 40-30 lead with 3:31 left in the second quarter, it was the first double-digit deficit the Hawks faced all season.
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