Hawks at Wizards
The Washington Wizards are insisting they can remain in the playoff race without five-time All-Star point guard John Wall. The Wizards look to post their second straight victory since learning Wall is done for the season when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Wall will undergo season-ending heel surgery and forward Markieff Morris (back) will miss his third straight game as the club attempts to feel optimistic about turning its season around. "We have enough in (the locker room) to win, even with the guys we have out," standout shooting guard Bradley Beal told reporters after Saturday's 130-126 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. "It's a matter of us putting it together and just doing it." The Hawks dropped a 116-108 decision to the Indiana Pacers on Monday for just their second loss in seven games. "We struggled to execute down the stretch and didn't give ourselves the opportunity to make shots," Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters afterward.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE HAWKS (11-25): Rookie guard Kevin Huerter established season bests of 22 points and six 3-pointers against Indians for his 12th double-figure outing of the campaign. "I made my first one and that's always big to see the ball go in, especially after a couple games of not shooting as well as I wanted to," Huerter said afterward of his long-range success. "We've been unselfish and it just seems like the ball was finding me." Second-year forward John Collins has recorded six straight double-doubles after having 22 points and 16 rebounds against Indiana.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (14-23): Tomas Satoransky is the new starting point guard with Wall out and he notched season-highs of 20 points and four 3-pointers while also posting six assists in the win over Charlotte. Satoransky had just one turnover in 33 minutes and the Wizards recorded 35 assists against 12 turnovers in the victory. "It's a good feeling obviously, because you know it tells you we are moving the ball," Satoransky told reporters. Brad is kind of the playmaker. It's a tough on him because a lot of teams focus on him, so we have to kind of play smart around him and he is creating for us so many good options."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split two December meetings in Atlanta.
2. Hawks SG Kent Bazemore (ankle) missed the loss to the Pacers and will be sidelined at least two weeks.
3. Washington SF Otto Porter Jr. (knee) could return Wednesday after a 10-game absence.