Atlanta hosted the Washington Wizards Wednesday night, on the second set of a back-to-back for both teams, and topped the DC squad, 118-103. Following a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on January 17th, Atlanta went 19-3 at home, which was a big goal for the team in regards to defending homecourt. This was the final regular-season series meeting between the two clubs, and Atlanta prevailed 3-1 over Washington. This was also the final home game of the regular season, as Atlanta plays their final two games on the road in Miami and Houston, respectively.
The Wizards came out shooting in the first period, but Atlanta was able to hang in and finish with another 40-point first quarter and the lead. From there the Hawks controlled this one besides a few runs by the Wizards. Atlanta was led by their superstar point guard, Trae Young, finishing with a 30-point & 11-assist double-double, his 20th type game this season.
The return of Danilo Gallinari was much needed for the Hawks squad, as he was out for the Toronto Raptors game the night before. ‘Gallo’ finished with 26 points on an efficient 58% shooting from the field overall. He also chipped in 10 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit 6 three’s off the bench for Atlanta on his way to 18 points.
Coming down the stretch, Atlanta is still jockeying position with the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nets and Hawks share the same win-loss record, but the edge goes to Brooklyn, who has a better record against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland remains a game ahead of both teams for the seventh seed.
The Hawks next game is against the Miami Heat on Friday at FTX Arena. The Hawks are 1-2 against the Heat squad this year. Atlanta may get lucky on Friday because the Heat may have the East’s top seed already locked down before this game, which would most likely lead to Miami resting players for the duration of the season. Regardless, Atlanta is looking to go 2-0 these final two games to put themselves in best position for the play-in tournament. Avoiding the 9/10 seed matchup should be the team’s top priority.
Tip-off for this ball game is at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
