Wizards at Hawks
The Washington Wizards are finally making their push to join the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and have won four straight. The Atlanta Hawks, who host the Wizards in the opener of a home-and-home set on Monday, are already in the top eight in the East and are one of four teams fighting over the No. 3 spot and homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason.
Washington’s up-and-down season is on an upswing with the four wins following a five-game slide, and the team sits 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, who are in a virtual tie for eighth place. The Wizards had more trouble with the lowly Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks than they would have liked in the last two games and will get a clearer picture of where they stack up against the playoff teams of the East when they play the Hawks twice in a row and three times over the final 13 regular-season games. Atlanta has won five straight and eight of nine to leap past Boston, Miami and Charlotte into third place in the East. The Hawks are playing strong defense during the stretch and held the Houston Rockets to 39.3 percent from the floor in a 109-97 win on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (34-35): Washington overcame an 18-point, first-half deficit in Saturday’s 99-89 triumph over the Knicks as all five starters scored in double figures and point guard John Wall recorded his fifth straight double-double. Wall was quick to credit the team’s defense for keying the largest comeback of the season. “The main thing is we stuck with it and played better defense in the second half,” Wall told reporters. “In the past, we played bad defense when we didn’t make shots and let the game get away from us.”
ABOUT THE HAWKS (41-29): Atlanta is relying on a balanced offensive attack and strong team defense during its surge, and reserve guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is becoming a big part of the story on both ends of the floor. The Michigan product sat out 31 of the Hawks’ first 35 games this season before proving himself and has become a solid part of the rotation over the last two months. Hardaway found his shooting touch in the last two games and averaged 20.5 points in wins over Denver and Houston while going 7-of-11 from 3-point range.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks C Al Horford is shooting 59.6 percent from the floor in the last seven games.
2. Wizards G Bradley Beal (pelvis) played for the third time in the last seven games on Saturday and managed 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 32 minutes.
3. Atlanta put up 39 fourth-quarter points to pull away in a 114-99 home win over Washington on Nov. 7.