The Atlanta Hawks fell 127-99 at the hands of the Washington Wizards on Saturday night at State Farm Arena. Atlanta had a chance to bounce back from an ugly loss, but many of the same issues resurfaced from the previous contest in this game. The Hawks shot 34% from the field and allowed 31 Washington fastbreak points, leading to a lopsided scoreboard.
Both teams struggled out of the gate offensively, but Jalen Johnson and Kyle Kuzma broke the lid off their respective teams’ rims to start the scoring. The Wizards and Hawks combined to shoot 11 three’s in the first four minutes. However, toward the middle of the quarter, Washington started hitting from downtown. They made four of eight three’s, while Atlanta shot 3-10 from deep. Kuzma was the catalyst behind an 11-5 Wizards’ run to take a 21-17 lead. Toward the end of the frame, Washington converted on 7-8 field goal attempts to take a 30-25 lead. The Hawks only knocked down 29% of their field goals at the end of the first quarter.
The Wizards went on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 38-25. Onyeka Okongwu’s efforts on the offensive glass kept Atlanta within striking distance, but they could not capitalize. The Hawks continued their cold streak, shooting 2-15 from the field to begin the second quarter. Washington was not much better at 4-12 FG. Atlanta put together a quick 8-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 54-47, but the Wizards aggressively closed the first half. They held a 58-47 advantage, led by Kuzma’s 22 points. Nobody on the Hawks scored in double digits, and Atlanta’s 47 points at halftime were a season-low.
The third quarter saw more offensive struggles for the Hawks. Early in the frame, Saddiq Bey could not capitalize on back-to-back open looks from deep. In contrast, the Wizards got everything they wanted offensively, capitalizing off live-ball turnovers and consistently driving into Atlanta’s paint. They extended their lead to 69-51 with an 11-4 run to quiet the State Farm Arena crowd. Washington held the Hawks to just four points in the first 4:10 of the third quarter, the Hawks never recovered from this scoring drought. Tyus Jones’ floaters off the pick-and-roll hurt Atlanta, especially in the second half. At the end of the third frame, Washington ballooned the lead to 99-71. The Hawks and fans, alike, looked shell-shocked.
As the final quarter began, Bogdan Bogdanović tried to will the Hawks to a magnificent comeback. He scored nine of the Hawks’ next 15 points for a 15-7 run, but the Wizards quickly countered. Delon Wright and Bilal Coulibaly made hustle plays defensively all night to ignite Washington’s fast-paced offense. With the game out of hand, Head Coach, Quin Snyder, emptied his bench for the second consecutive night with just under four minutes to go.
Atlanta’s backcourt struggled. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray shot a combined 10-34 from the field. Young had 21 points and ten assists, while Murray put up 13 points. Bey scored 16 points and got four steals, and Okongwu totaled nine points, 10 boards and three blocks. Bogdanović added 14 (5-13 FG) off the bench.
Kuzma led Washington with 29 points on 50% shooting, while Jordan Poole added 20 points. Deni Avdija stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Daniel Gafford chipped in 10 points, and Corey Kispert and Coulibaly had 11 and 12 points, respectively.
Atlanta’s fourth contest on this five-game homestand comes Monday afternoon, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, against the San Antonio Spurs. With a large crowd expected for the holiday, the Hawks need to break out of their current offensive slump and get back in the win column.
