Washington Wizards come up clutch in win over Atlanta Hawks

The Washington Wizards got their third win in four games on Friday night, as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 111-101. But it didn’t come without some drama.

If you were told that Washington’s four most impressive wins this season would be without Bradley Beal, well you’d be as shocked as anyone. But it’s the truth. After beating the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets last week, the Wizards have topped the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks this week.

Washington entered their matchup with the Hawks with a slight boost in firepower from their recently injured lineups. Davis Bertans made his long-awaited return to the court after missing nine games with a quad injury.

And Atlanta, smoked from their most recent matchup with the Houston Rockets, looked just that. Their effort was lackadaisical, their execution was poor, and they seemed uninterested down the stretch.

The Good

In his return, Davis Bertans played just as well as he had before, boosting his already sky-high value on the trade market. He had an immediate impact in his return, scoring 14 points and grabbing 8 rebounds in 21 minutes, including a dagger three-pointer to effectively end the game.

Jordan McRae, who’s been scoring at a high level, albeit inefficiently, came up big for Washington in the final stretch as well. He finished with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. He shot just 39 percent shooting from the field, but was 4-of-5 from deep.

Washington came out strong, putting together a 15-point lead by the second quarter.

But turnovers and poor shooting amassed quickly on their end, as Atlanta was down just 56-51 at the break. Still, as strong as the Hawks came out of halftime, Washington remained resilient and found themselves up 81-79 entering the final quarter.

Then it was Ish Smith, not McRae, who stepped up for the Wizards.

Of his 10 points against Atlanta, eight came in the fourth quarter.

Troy Brown Jr’s contributions should not be overlooked either. He recorded his third double-double in four games with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

This emphatic jam over Hawks’ guard De’Andre Bembry sums up the energy he brought for Washington. Brown and Gary Payton II did a credible job with guarding Trae Young, who went for just 19 points on 7-of-20 from the field.

The Bad

With every win, there are minor losses. It’s not uplifting to see Washington let a 15-point lead dissolve almost entirely. And part of that comes from the incredibly inefficient shooting from their starting backcourt guards, Isaiah Thomas and McRae.

The two starters combined to shoot 12-of-42 from the field, a slump that they’ve been unable to evade for what seems the entirety of 2020. Elsewhere, the Wizards struggled on the glass, barely scraping out a rebounding edge over the NBA’s 28th ranked rebounding team. The Wizards grabbed 57 rebounds to the Hawks’ 56 rebounds.

Washington will be glad to have Thomas Bryant back soon enough, and Moritz Wagner soon after that, as their biggest weakness seems to be their rebounding efforts. Alex Len and John Collins combined for 29 rebounds total, with only one Wizard accounting for double-digit rebounds (TBJ).

Washington’s thirteenth win was as exciting as any other. With Bradley Beal, Bryant, and Moritz Wagner on the mend, things are looking up. The Wizards will take on the rolling Utah Jazz on Sunday, in a rare afternoon game tipping off at 3:30 pm ET.