This was a showdown?
Atlanta hosted Washington in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference in a Sunday matinee at a sold-out Philips Arena. The Hawks simply won by 31 points, 120-89, their largest-margin of victory this season.
It was just another game and just another impressive victory for the hottest team in the NBA.
The Hawks (29-8, 16-3 home) won their eighth straight and their 22nd out of the past 24 games. They increased their lead over the Wizards in the conference and the Southeast Division to four games.
“We were clicking tonight,” said Kyle Korver, who led the Hawks with a game-high 19 points that included five 3-pointers. “At this point, I don’t think we’ve played a better game. We just had that one stretch in the second quarter. Otherwise that’s as good as we’ve played this year. I’m sure they feel like they could have played better. They had a bunch of turnovers in the first half which helped to get us out and running and got the crowd into the game. That was really exciting.”
The Hawks led by as many as 20 points in the first half. The Wizards cut their deficit to just two points by early in the third quarter. That was as close as the Hawks would let them get. They finished the second half outscoring the Wizards 65-39 to put an end to any notion of a comeback.
Still, despite the remarkable winning ways, the Hawks continue to put such efforts in perspective.
“I think the stretch that we are in right now says a lot about this team,” Thabo Sefolosha said. “We don’t take it for more than what it is. It’s a regular-season game and we beat a very good team. We are happy about it but we are not going to get ahead of ourselves. It’s still a long way to go. I think we can get better, especially when we get the lead. There is a lot we can take from this game on the positive side and move on.”
The Hawks placed eight players in double-digit scoring, including all five starters. In addition to Korver, DeMarre Carroll had 16 points, including 11 in the decisive third quarter. He was followed by Al Horford (15 points) Pero Antic (12), Paul Millsap (11), Jeff Teague (11), Mike Scott (11) and Dennis Schroder (10). Teague added 10 assists.
The Hawks tied a franchise record with eight different players making at least one 3-pointer. They finished shooting 51.6 percent (16 of 31) from long range, better than their 47.2 percent field goal percentage.
Again, it was defense that fueled a Hawks’ victory. They forced 20 turnovers, including 14 steals, which led to 31 points. Wizards star guard John Wall, the NBA assists leader, finished with as many assists as turnovers with eight each.
“We’ve got to be like pests, be like gnats,” Carroll said. “We’ve always got to be active. We are not the biggest team so we’ve got to be scrappy, be up and in guys, get steals.”
The Wizards (25-12) had a three-game win streak snapped. Wall finished with 15 points.
The Hawks led by as many as 20 points, 44-24, early in the second quarter. The Wizards ended the first half by outscoring the Hawks 26-11, including an 18-4 run. The Hawks led despite trailing the Wizards in field-goal percentage (54.1 to 39.6 percent), including one less basket.
The Wizards would cut their deficit to two points, 69-67, in the third quarter. The Hawks answered with a16-2 run to regain a comfortable lead. They took a 10-point advantage into the final quarter and stepped on the gas pedal from there.
It’s back to business for the Hawks. They start a four-game road trip to Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto and Chicago on Tuesday.
“It says a lot but we don’t want to put too much emphasis on it,” Millsap said. “It’s still a long season. It’s still just one more run. But it was great. They are a pretty good team. We did what we were supposed to do and won at home.”
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