With no Davis, the game had to come from somewhere else, and it came from both teams' scoring. Washington had scored 105 or fewer in 4 of its last 5 and scored 132 here. It still wasn't enough, because Atlanta's thin rotation, missing Jock Landale, Asa Newell, Keshon Gilbert, Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar, put up 139 anyway. Both short-handed rosters played fast and loose, and neither defense got a grip on the game.
Washington actually started well. The Wizards won the 1st quarter 32-28, their first real lead in 2 games against this team. Then Atlanta won the 2nd quarter 38-27, flipped a 4-point deficit into a 66-59 halftime lead, and decided the game in those 12 minutes.
The Hawks added to the lead in the 3rd, winning it 39-35 to go up 105-94 with 12 minutes left. They gave 77 points to a Wizards team that had been scuffling to reach 100. Washington kept coming. It won the 4th 38-34 and cut the final margin to 7, but it never got the stop it needed to make the last few minutes a real one-possession game. Over 2 games in 3 nights, the Wizards won 2 quarters out of 8 against Atlanta, and both came Friday.
For Washington, the result is a bad week with something to show for it. The offense finally looked like an offense without Davis, which matters for a roster also missing Reece Beekman, Jamir Watkins, Justin Champagnie and Tristan Vukcevic. The defense that held Charlotte to 79 and Orlando to 94 has now given up 120 and 139 to the same team in consecutive games. The Wizards are 4-5 and have lost 2 straight.
Atlanta is 6-4, has won 4 of its last 5, and has done the last 3 of those without its best player. Even so, a team that gives up 132 at home doesn't get to relax. The Hawks won this one on shotmaking and the 2nd quarter, not by locking anybody down. That approach works until a healthy Davis or a better offense shows up.
