Wizards Magic Useless Against Hawks

Hawks 91 Wizards 87

The Hawks made me kick my heals, jump out of my seat, and beg on my knees for a miracle last night against the Wizards. Maybe they were just trying to get a rise out of me, because in the last 65 seconds, led by Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, the team cruised to a come-from-behind victory like there was not even a chance they would lose that game.

The first half showed all the signs of the poor play that has hurt the Hawks over and over again during their losing streak. Allowing the Washington to put up 50 points, I dreaded a second half believing there was a chance that the Hawks would let the lowly 1-8 Wizards score triple digits on them.

Alas, the third quarter brought back joyous recent memories from just weeks ago. Atlanta suffocated Washington's offense by allowing only 17 points.

Fueled by an excellent third, the Hawks still had much work to do in order to balance out their weak play from the start of the game. After a relatively cold streak for both teams in the fourth quarter, the Hawks found themselves in a rather unfortunate predicament, down 4 points with 65 seconds to play.

Though nervous, I felt reassured by the positive commentary of the Human Highlight Reel, Dominique Wilkens. Reassuring the audience, he never lost doubt that the Hawks could come back from a four points deficit with a minute five left.

Right on cue, Bang!, Joe Johnson hit a three pointer. After a weak effort by the Wizards to answer, Marvin Williams knocked down another three to put the Hawks up two points.

Washington seemed totally unable to get a shot in any sort of a rhythm as time expired.

Credit this win not only to the Hawks players and coaching staff, but to Dominique for his unwavering support in what looked like the clutches of defeat. How this man did not retire a Hawk; I will never know

Quick Notes:
I guess it would be easy to give all the credit to Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams for the comeback. However, Zaza Pachulia deserves an honorable mention for his outstanding work throughout the game. He rebounded a career high 18 boards (8 of which were offensive).

Marvin Williams had the line of the night: 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
After giving up 50 points in the first half, the Hawks allowed only 37 in the second half.

In close contests, it's all about making shots at the end of the game when they count the most. Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, and Maurice Evans hit big-time three pointers late in the game.