- Associated Press - Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Bradley Beal scored 28 points and John Wall added all 22 of his in the second half to help the Washington Wizards to a 104-100 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Wall also had 10 assists on a night he shot just 6 of 21 from the floor, including two assists to Beal during a late 14-2 run that helped Washington ensure victory after Atlanta had led by as many as 12 early.

Ian Mahinmi had 10 rebounds off the bench as the Wizards used a 55-44 edge on the glass to overcome 40 percent shooting.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 29 points and Dennis Schroder had 18 to lead the Hawks, who fell to their fifth consecutive defeat.

Dwight Howard added 14 points and 16 rebounds while frontcourt mate Paul Millsap missed his third consecutive game with a sore left knee.

Washington solidified a 3-1 season series victory over Atlanta while snapping its two-game skid.

After Schroder hit a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a 78-77 lead, the Wizards responded with their game-sealing 14-2 run.

Wall found Beal for a 3-pointer on the left wing and then for an alley-oop to push the lead to 86-78.

Washington led by nine after Wall converted a three-point play, and it was 91-80 with 4:52 left following Wall’s thunderous dunk in transition off Markieff Morris’ outlet feed.

Atlanta got within three twice inside the final 1:07, but no closer.

The Hawks have lost all six games without Millsap this season. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has yet to decide if the four-time All-Star Millsap will return for Atlanta on Friday.

“We’ll kind of see how he’s doing tomorrow morning,” he said.

Hawks guard Kent Bazemore (right knee) missed his second game while forward/guard Mike Dunleavy (right ankle) played after a 13-game injury layoff

The Wizards were held to 40 points at halftime for the second time in three games, tying their second-lowest scoring first half of the season.

The Wizards committed 13 of their 19 turnovers in the first half, and just one in the fourth quarter.

Washington won the season series against Atlanta for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

After the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers sat their stars for national TV games on consecutive Saturdays, Wizards coach Scott Brooks said he felt most players shouldn’t need planned days off if they’re healthy.

“There’s certain cases and certain examples and certain players that probably need it, but it’s very rare in my opinion,” Brooks said. “You’re talking basketball. It’s 32 minutes a night. This is not hard work. This is fun. To me, rest is a good night’s sleep.”

The Hawks close a three-game road trip at Milwaukee on Friday.

The Wizards host Brooklyn on Friday before playing eight of their last 10 on the road.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide