Hawks at Wizards
John Wall and the Washington Wizards know they have precious little room for error if they are going to make the NBA playoffs, but a five-game winning streak has them thinking postseason going into the second half of a back-to-back with the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Wall scored 27 points in the Wizards’ 117-102 victory Monday in Atlanta, moving Washington back to .500 and within 1 ½ games of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
“We got to take care of what we can first: winning our games,” Wall, who teamed with Bradley Beal to shred Atlanta’s heralded defense Monday, told reporters. “And if other teams lose, that’s big for us, but we just got to keep grinding and competing.” Victories also are critical for Atlanta at this point, given the Hawks are in a four-way battle for third place in the East -- just one-half game behind Miami and tied with Charlotte and Boston. The Hawks have won 10 of 13 and rank sixth in the NBA in 99.1 points per game allowed, but could not slow down a Washington offense averaging 111.2 points during its winning streak. “They were very aggressive,” Atlanta center Al Horford told reporters of the Wizards. “They were all over us.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (41-30): Atlanta ran out of gas offensively in the fourth quarter Monday, hitting just 7-of-16 attempts from the field and misfiring on all five of its 3-point attempts. Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. continues validating his recent increase in playing time, scoring 16 points and hitting four 3-pointers against the Wizards, and is averaging 19 points on 63.3 percent shooting from the field in his past three games. Jeff Teague scored a team-high 23 points Monday for Atlanta, which has won its past 10 games when holding opponents to less than 100 points.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (35-35): Beal scored 25 points Monday and combined with Wall to hit 8-of-11 3-point attempts, and Washington placed all five starters in double figures for the fifth straight game. Wall added 14 assists – he ranks third in the league with 10 per game and is 21st in scoring at 20.2 points, averaging 20.9 points, 11.3 assists and 5.9 rebounds in March. Beal played 34 minutes (his highest total in a month), making a season-high five 3-pointers, and is shooting 55.6 percent from the field in two games against Atlanta this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Horford is averaging 17 points across his past eight games, shooting 58.4 percent from the field in that span.
2. Washington F Otto Porter Jr. recorded his first double-double since Jan. 1 Monday, scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds.
3. The Wizards are 9-1 in their past 10 home games, limiting opponents to 93.1 points per game in those contests.