Atlanta Hawks clobber Washington Wizards to snap three-game skid
The Atlanta Hawks snapped their three-game losing streak when they posted a dominating win against the Washington Wizards, 116-96, on Thursday 25 November at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.
Josh Smith spearheaded Atlanta’s attack as the high-flying forward scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Joe Johnson led the team in scoring with 21 points including 3-for-5 shooting
from beyond-the-arc, helping Atlanta bag their ninth win of the season.
“We hadn't had a game like this all season,” said Smith, who shot 8-for-16 from the field. “We have to make a statement every time we play. We just have to get wins at this point.”
Al Horford also had an outstanding game for the Hawks, scoring 15 points to go with 13 rebounds, and the fourth-year centre said after the game that they were pumped up after having a team
meeting that addressed their lapses in their last three-games.
“We worked really hard,” said Horford, who shot 6-for-11 from the field and had two blocks. “I think our meeting went well and that was the key. We addressed a lot of issues we had as a team.
I kind of wanted to go out there and show it, I did not want to talk about it before the game. We did that tonight and I'm happy to get this win.”
Atlanta came out firing on all cylinders in the first period, while Washington struggled to find their rhythm, finding themselves trailing by ten points, 28-18, heading into the second quarter.
The Hawks continued to dominate and led by as much as 27 points, handing the Wizards their ninth defeat this season.
“The disappointing thing was our lack of competitiveness to start the game,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders, whose team scored their season-low in the first period. “I couldn't understand
why. We had a day off, had an opportunity and just did not match their intensity. We have been getting destroyed by points in the paint. We just haven't shown any physical presence and we have not competed against a good team yet.”
Gilbert Arenas, who started in place of injured guard/forward Al Thornton, led the Wizards with his 21 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, while Nick Young shot 8-for-14 from the field
to finish with 20 points. The 2010 first overall pick John Wall had a rough night as he struggled to find his rhythm, finishing the game with only 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field.
“We get paid for this,” Wall said. “This is our job, this is our dream. This is what we want to do. So we need to start acting like it and take it more serious.”
Thornton was with the team, but did not play because a sprained left ankle. He is also expected to miss Washington’s game against the Orlando Magic on Saturday 27 November.
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