Al Horford didn’t want to talk about his lack of All-Star votes.
His play spoke volumes.
Horford scored a game-high 34 points, including a buzzer-beating game-winner, for a 101-99 overtime victory over the Wizards Friday night at Philips Arena. The Hawks continued their dominance over the Wizards with their 11th straight win in Atlanta.
Horford took an in-bound pass from Pero Antic, a lob over Wizards defender Trevor Booker, and put in the game winner.
“It’s a play that we’ve worked on and we have three options – to me, Paul (Millsap) or Kyle (Korver),” Horford said. “I think they overplayed the other guys. Pero saw me and gave me a great pass. It was supposed to be a lob for a dunk but Booker did a good job of pushing me away (from the basket). As soon as I caught it, I shot it. Since we’ve worked on it before, I was comfortable taking that shot.”
The pass was not a big deal for Antic.
“I would like to say it’s not (hard),” Antic said. “There is always pressure. I’m old enough, experienced enough, to try to concentrate and find the best solution at that moment.
“The pass is easier than the shot.”
It was the second game-winner of the season for Horford, whose last-second shot defeated the Mavericks on Nov. 29.
Two of Horford’s career-high tying 34 points were a pair of free throws with 5.5 seconds left in regulation to tie a game the Hawks led by 15 points with 8:06 remaining. He added 15 rebounds for the double-double.
Millsap added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Korver had 16 points and Teague had 12 points. Korver has extended his NBA-record streak to 92 consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
Horford had a tip-in with 2:29 remaining in overtime to give the Hawks a 92-90 lead. Korver added a 3-pointer and Teague dropped in a basket in the paint to extend the lead to 97-93 lead with 1:24 remaining.
Booker scored for the Wizards to make it 99-97 and after a Hawks miss they had the ball with 11 seconds left and a chance to tie or win it. Booker scored in-close with 1.8 seconds left for another tie.
“Let’s go out and win this game,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of the overtime period. “The fact that Al hit the two free throws to send it to overtime was (big). Losing the lead is never easy and those games are tough to win. You are down a little bit. Al making the two free throws made it feel a little different going into overtime. We felt like we had an opportunity to go win a game.”
The Hawks led by the15 points in the fourth quarter. The Wizards went on a 16-2 run to cut their deficit to one point, 82-81, with 2:56 remaining. After a Hawks turnover, John Wall made a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer for the Wizards first lead since the second quarter. The basket, with 1:40 remaining, ended a 19-2 run.
“For forty-two minutes we didn’t do anything,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “We would have gotten more out of staying at home and practicing. The last eight minutes, I’ll give them credit for staying in the fight and having an opportunity to win the game.”
The teams traded baskets before the Hawks got the ball back on a Horford block with under a minute remaining. After a mad scramble, Horford was fouled with less than six seconds remaining. He calmly sank the two free throws to tie the game at 86-86.
Wall missed at the buzzer to force overtime.
“My whole mentality was to take my time,” Hoford said. “I wanted to take them one at a time and just knock them down. They felt pretty good. I understood how important they were. I knew I had to make them.”
The Hawks (12-11, 8-4 home) ended a four-game homestand 3-1.
The Wizards (9-12, 3-8 road) lost their third straight. Booker led the Wizards with 24 points. Wall had 13 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.
Horford is one of three Hawks on the All-Star ballot. He was not in the top 15 in voting when the NBA released the initial results Thursday. He cared not to talk about it – before or after the game.
The Hawks led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter. They started the period with a 14-6 run to build a double-digit lead.
Wall torched the Hawks for 26 points and 12 assists in the Wizards in 108-101 win Nov. 30. Through three quarters Friday, the Wizards star guard had more turnovers (3) than points (2).
Hawks travel to New York for a game against the Knicks Saturday.
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