The Atlanta Hawks entered Friday night’s game in the nation’s capital as double-digit underdogs to the John Wall-less Washington Wizards. Someone forgot to tell the visitors, though, as Mike Budenholzer’s team fought valiantly for 48 minutes and emerged with a 103-97 victory.
The game opened with ugly, borderline unwatchable play on both sides and that was oddly reinforced by Wizards forward Markieff Morris being ejected at the 4:11 mark of the first quarter. Washington shot just 35 percent in the first quarter but held a one-point lead after Atlanta shot just 38 percent in their own right.
However, things turned on a bit in the second period and the Hawks were the impetus for the turnaround.