The Wizards made a second half surge and made things interesting, but they came up short and fell 104-95 to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at Phillips Arena.
The Hawks built up an early lead and led by 12 after the first quarter, thanks to some fine play from their point guard Jeff Teague, who finished the game with 19 points. The Wizards found themselves down by 13 at the half and then down by as many as 18 in the third quarter. But, Bradley Beal and Kevin Seraphin helped spark a run to lift the Wizards back into the game and had it within one possession midway through the fourth. However, they never could get over that final hump and Josh Smith's 23 points and 15 rebounds were too much for the road team as the Hawks went on to win the second game of the season series.
Kevin Seraphin led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds on his 23rd birthday. Bradley Beal added 18 points, Jordan Crawford finished with 14, while Nene put in 12 off the bench.
Next, the Wizards host the Warriors on Saturday night at Verizon Center.
