Wizards 104
Hawks 100
March 22, 2017 – Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
The Wizards snapped their 2-game losing streak last night, leaving the Atlanta Hawks reeling on a 5-game skid of their own with a 104-100 victory last night at Verizon. The Wizards overcame abominable shooting struggles in the first half - particularly bad shooting from Wall who went 0-8 for 0 points - and turned things around in the second half as shots fell and players defended. Wall bursted for 22 in the second half; Beal finished with 28; and the bench contributed with defense from Kelly Oubre, buckets from Jason Smith and glass work from Ian Mahinmi. Here are your quarter-by-quarter highlights:
1st quarter
Bad defense has been an unavoidable subject for the Wizards for a while now. According to Scott Brooks, defense has been an issue for a large part of the season, we just didn’t know it because the offense was often able to outlast the struggles. And they were winning. Now, in the midst of a 2-game losing streak and 4 losses in 5 games, the issues on defense have surfaced, and they persisted early on in this game. Dennis Schroder exploited switch after switch, taking advantage of his first step and blowing by Otto and Keef for two separate scores. Later, Beal slept on a Hardaway back cut. Moreover, the Wizards couldn’t score as the Hawks took an early 16-8 lead.
#WizHawks mid-quarter update:
Speaking of not scoring, this was a dilemma for both teams in the first quarter, with the Wizards shooting just 32% from the field, while the Hawks shot 34%. The Wizards certainly struggled with a hermetically sealed rim, but they also botched a few transition opportunities. Beal blew a layup early on, then misfired on an alley-oop attempt to Otto Porter.
After going down 18-8, the Wizards closed out the quarter on a 12-2 run, bringing the Wizards to within 4 going in to the 2nd.
2nd quarter
We’re continuing to see some great things from this retooled second unit. Brooks employed an all bench lineup to start the second: Jennings, Bogie, Oubre, Smith, Mahinmi.
Did Brandon and Jason just become best friends? YUP.
While Jennings and Smith played their fun two man game, Mahinmi was grabbing offensive boards (3 in the quarter), Bogie was knocking down a shot clock beating 3, and Oubre was playing lockdown defense. By the time the starters were reinserted, the Wizards were within 2.
It's been a while since we've seen John Wall struggle so mightily in one half. Wall couldn't buy a bucket, not even a free throws, going 0-8 from the field and 0-2 from the line. He did compensate for some of his shooting woes with 5 assists and 2 steals.
3rd quarter
2nd half John Wall > 1st half John Wall.
Wall finally got out of his funk and on to the scoresheet, breaking ice with a 3-pointer. He finished the quarter shooting 3-of-6 from the field for 12 points. With some added aggression by Wall, the Wizards gathered some momentum to finally take the lead.
Also pleasant to see was Otto's 8 points in the quarter. Going back to the basics, Otto set himself up perfectly for John Wall to find him for open buckets, including two 3's.
4th quarter
Tone setter: the Wizards got free Chick-Fil-A and a Kelly OUBR3 within the first seconds of the 4th quarter.
The Wizards jumped on a 10-2 run to take an 11 point lead at the mid-way point of the quarter, and it started here with this beauty:
#WizHawks in a Tweet
The Game’s Top Performer
John Wall - 22 points (all in 2nd half)
Wall went 0-8 to score zero points in the first half, and the Wizards trailed by 6. Wall scored 22 points in the second half, and the Wizards at one point led by 11 in the 4th quarter, enough to secure a 4 point win. When the crowd chants "MVP" for John Wall, they're not in over their head. They know the Wizards go as far as John Wall takes them, thus deeming him a player of most value. How did Wall break out of his first half stinker?
“Just keep shooting, that's the key. 0-8 I had good looks, I had some shots that rimmed in and out. My job for this team is to be aggressive offensively and defensively, to pass the ball and be a scorer. Luckily some shots started to fall for me.”
A forgettable night for…
Dennis Schroder
What was more hideous than Schroder's hair? His 10 turnovers.
Key Stat of the Night
With all the disgust over Washington's defense, John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 8 of the team's 9 total assists, which each totaling 4 steals apiece.
What’s next?
The Wizards will play one more home game before embarking on another road trip. Their home game against the Nets on Friday precedes a 5-game road trip starting in Cleveland before veering out west to play the Clippers, Lakers, Jazz and Warriors. Get your mouthpiece ready.