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The Wizards (13-25) captured their third consecutive home win Friday night at Capital One Arena, defeating the Hawks (8-31) 111-101. Jordan McRae scored a team-high 29 points, his fifth game this season with at least 20 points, and added eight rebounds and six assists. Friday’s performance marked the first time McRae has ever totaled at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the same game.
“We just keep fighting,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said. “Another key was we didn’t turn the ball over. We got 112 shots and we needed all of them.”
While Bradley Beal (lower right leg soreness) missed his fifth consecutive game, the Wizards still received some much-needed injury relief. After sitting the last nine games with a quad strain, Davis Bertans made his return to action, scoring 14 points in 21 minutes on 5-12 (.416) from the field and 3-8 (.375) from beyond the arc. Bertans wasted no time testing out his range, firing a pair of 3-pointers in his first 55 seconds on the court. Bertans is averaging 15.3 points on 44.8% from the field and 43.2% from 3-point range, ranking second on the team in both points and minutes per game.
The Hawks struggled from the field in the early going, shooting just 10-26 (.385) from the field and 1-9 (.111) from three in the first quarter, allowing the Wizards to build an early nine-point lead. Gary Payton II, whose defense normally headlines his performances, carried the Wizards’ offense in the early going. Payton II hit his first five shots, all of which came in the first half, including his first 3-pointer since December 30 against Miami.
After the Wizards extended their lead to 15 midway through the second, the Hawks went on an 18-7 run to cut the lead to four with just under two minutes left in the half. Hawks guard Trae Young scored 11 points in the second quarter, but was held to just 19 points overall. Payton II, who handled the majority of the defensive responsibilities against Young, helped limit him to 7-20 (.350) from the field and 0-7 (.000) from deep.
“Just make it tough for him, cut his route off early and try to disrupt early,” Payton II said of the Wizards’ defensive strategy against the Young. “Get into a flow and try to take away his threes. We did a hell of a job of making him get to the rim and finish over our bigs.”
While the overall rebounding battle was close (57-56), the Wizards dominated the offensive boards, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds to the Hawks’ nine. Washington finished the game with a season-high 29 second-chance points, including 18 in the first quarter alone. The 29 second-chance points are the most the Wizards have scored in a game since November 9, 2016 against Boston (33).
Nine third quarter points from Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter and a cold shooting stretch from the Wizards out of the halftime break allowed the Hawks to take a four-point lead with two minutes left in the third. Threes from Bertans and Admiral Schofield helped the Wizards take back a two-point lead heading into a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
The Hawks opened the fourth on a 10-2 run, taking an 89-83 lead with 8:39 left in the game. From that point, McRae took over, scoring 10 points in the final eight minutes of the game, leading the Wizards to the double-digit win. As a team, the Wizards went without a turnover for the final 19 minutes of the game.
Washington shot just 42-112 (.375) from the field, earning their first win on a sub-40% shooting night since January 30, 2018 against Oklahoma City (34-89; .382).
The Wizards received a boost from their bench, as has been the case for most of the season. Tonight’s group of reserves, led by 18 points from Troy Brown Jr., combined for 51 points, right on par with their 50.4 points per game average. The Wizards and Clippers are the only teams in the league averaging over 50.0 bench points per game. Brown Jr. shot 7-12 (.583) from the field en route to his 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds and now has double-doubles in three of his last four games.
“(Brown Jr.) is an elite rebounder for his position,” Brooks said. “And his position is multiple positions. We are trying to figure that he can play some four, when we play smaller teams like tonight. But he rebounds. He rebounds when he’s at the two, he rebounds when he is at the three, he rebounds when he is at the four. We’ve haven’t played him at the one, but he’s been a ball handler at times. He’s a great rebounder.”
The Wizards are back at Capital One Arena on Sunday at 3:30 P.M. for a matchup with the Utah Jazz in the teams’ first meeting of the season. Washington has lost seven consecutive games to Utah dating back to 2016. After Sunday’s game against the Jazz, the Wizards play six of their next seven games on the road, beginning next Wednesday in Chicago.