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Double dipped: Hawks lose a win, then lose the game
0112Hawks
Washington Wizards' Brendan Haywood, right, scores as Atlanta Hawks' Josh Smith defends in the first quarter Friday in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — The Hawks have endured plenty of tough times over their eight-year playoff drought: a 13-win season, an embarrassing court battle for control of the team, Isaiah Rider.

They’ve never had two wins snatched away in one day.

Until Friday.

Commissioner David Stern took away a victory in the afternoon, ordering a replay against Miami, then Atlanta lost an overtime game to Washington in the evening. Antawn Jamison scored 22 points and Caron Butler added 21 to lead the Wizards to a 102-98 victory over the hard-luck Hawks.

Josh Smith scored 35 points for Atlanta, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s 12-of-22 showing at the foul line. Washington made the Hawks pay, knocking down 22 of 24 free throws.

"Things that happened earlier, we just had to clear it out of our heads," Smith said. "That’s what we’ve got to deal with when we play those guys again. We should have won this game. We should have won this game so we could get back to .500.

The Hawks, who started the day at .500, went to bed at 15-17.

"It was unfortunate about the protest," Atlanta’s Marvin Williams said. "But we’ll deal with that in March. Tonight, we let one get away."

Antonio Daniels scored off a finger roll with 37.5 seconds left in overtime to put the Wizards ahead to stay. Butler and Daniels sealed the win at the line, going 6-of-6 the rest of the way.

"We never made both free throws down the stretch," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "We kept making one of two. That was huge."

So was Stern’s ruling before the game. About three hours ahead of tipoff, the NBA announced it was upholding a protest filed by the Miami Heat after an overtime loss in Atlanta last month.

The commissioner took away the Hawks’ 117-111 win, ruling the final 51.9 seconds must be replayed because the home scoring crew mistakenly ruled that Shaquille O’Neal fouled out, when he actually had only five fouls.

The league’s first replay since 1982 will be held before the next game between the teams, March 8 in Atlanta. It will be Miami’s ball, with the Hawks leading 114-111.

Losing a win in the standings before they ever took the court, the Hawks could have soothed their feelings with a win over a division rival. Instead, Washington strengthened its hold on second place in the Southeast.

"It wasn’t pretty. You have to rely on your defense and your rebounding," Jamison said. "We did everything possible to win on the road."

With Gilbert Arenas still on the mend from knee surgery, the Wizards relied on a balanced attack. DeShawn Stevenson added 19 points, Daniels had 14 and Andray Blatche chipped in with 13 off the bench. Jamison also pulled down 17 rebounds, while Blatche swatted away five shots to equal his career high.

"We got some major-league stops," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "Andray came in and made some defensive plays. He made big play after big play for us."

Smith led the Hawks, but his line at the line (4-for-10) was symbolic of Atlanta’s free-throw woes. Joe Johnson had 23 points and Marvin Williams 16, though they, too, had crucial misses down the stretch.

Rookie Al Horford grabbed a career-best 19 rebounds for the Hawks.

Atlanta led 82-76 on Johnson’s basket with 5:44 remaining, then Washington surged back into the lead with nine straight points, capped by Butler’s 3-pointer.

Johnson answered with a 3 of his own to tie it up, but the Hawks kept missing free throws that could have extended the lead.

"We just couldn’t make both free throws," Smith said. "We have to concentrate at the line more."

After Stevenson hit two foul shots with 43.5 seconds left for an 87-87 tie, both teams squandered a pair of chances to win in regulation. Williams had a shot swatted away by Stevenson, then Smith stepped up to block Butler’s attempt a winning 3 from the top of the key just ahead of the buzzer.

The Wizards led 39-33 at halftime after a hideous display of shooting by both teams. Washington connected on just 39 percent (15 of 29) from the field, while the Hawks were even worse at 35 percent (14 of 40).

Both teams improved after the break, with the Hawks nearly breaking even (41 of 87). They just couldn’t overcome their woes at the foul line.Notes: Atlanta G Tyronn Lue was on the 12-man active roster but didn’t play because of a groin injury. ... C Brendan Haywood started for the Wizards but spent most of the night on the bench. He played only 11 minutes, scoring 2 points. Every other starter played at least 40 minutes. ... Washington has won 12 of its last 15 games in Atlanta.

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