Hawks earn high-scoring win over Wizards

Taurean Prince scored 21 points, Kevin Huerter had 19, and the visiting Atlanta Hawks defeated the Washington Wizards 137-129 on Monday night. Overall, nine Atlanta players scored in double figures, including all five starters. Prince made 7 of 10 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 3-point attempts.

Omari Spellman (16 points, 10 rebounds), John Collins (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Trae Young (10 points, 10 assists) made multifaceted contributions for the Hawks. Collins got his double-double in just 16 minutes of first-half action. He sustained what the team called a "facial laceration" in the second quarter and did not return.

Atlanta repeatedly hurt the Wizards with its success in 3-point shooting. The Hawks made 49 percent (20 of 41) from long range, and that was the difference. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with a game-high 27 points while Jeff Green added 26 and Trevor Ariza had 25.

The Washington defense continued having problems. In the team's previous game on Saturday, the Wizards gave up 73 points in the first half as the Milwaukee Bucks produced a 131-115 victory. Atlanta burned the Washington defense in the first half Monday. The Hawks used a 14-2 run for a 35-20 lead after the first quarter.

The Hawks threatened to turn the game into a blowout in the second quarter. Young made two free throws about five minutes in that gave Atlanta a 51-32 lead before the Wizards began to come back. Green led the way with seven points as Washington cut the deficit to two in the final minute before Atlanta escaped with a 61-57 halftime lead.

The Hawks took over again in the third quarter. They scored the first eight points of the period and later stretched the lead to 94-76 when Vince Carter nailed back-to-back long 3-pointers. Washington bounced back again after that. The Wizards went on a 13-3 run that cut the deficit down, but Atlanta still held a 99-89 lead after three quarters.

The Hawks tried to hold on in the fourth quarter, but the Wizards kept trying to get closer. Washington cut the difference to 116-111 when Ariza made a layup with just under six minutes remaining, but they couldn't catch the Hawks. --Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)