WASHINGTON — Al Horford’s three-point play with 12.4 seconds remaining broke a tie in the Atlanta Hawks’ 102-98 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Washington’s Caron Butler hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 to play to tie it at 98 after Atlanta had a 17-point lead early in the third quarter.
Darius Songaila’s turnover with 31.8 seconds left gave the ball to Atlanta. Mike Bibby, who led Atlanta with 21 points, fed Horford for a layup, and he was fouled by Butler. Horford, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, hit the free throw for a 101-98 lead.
DeShawn Stevenson was fouled by Bibby with 6.9 seconds to play, but he missed both free throws. Maurice Evans hit one of two free throws with 5.7 seconds to play to complete the scoring.
The Hawks, who lost their previous five road games, sped to a 28-14 lead. They made all four of their 3-point attempts in the first quarter.
The NBA leaders in 3-point shooting, Atlanta was 7-for-12 in the first half en route to a 55-45 lead. Bibby, who also had six assists and five rebounds, had 17 of his points in the first half, when he hit all six of his field-goal attempts — three of them 3-pointers.
Evans had 19 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta, Joe Johnson had 18 points and Marvin Williams 13.
Antawn Jamison led Washington with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He had 17 of his points in the second half. Butler had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Songaila had 16 points.
The Wizards played their third game under interim coach Ed Tapscott. After winning his first game Tuesday night against Golden State, they’ve dropped the last two.
Atlanta started the season winning its first six games for the first time since 1997-98. Since then, the Hawks are 4-6.
The Hawks scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 62-45 lead.
Notes: Atlanta was without F Josh Smith for the 12th straight game. Smith, sidelined by a sprained left ankle, is nearly ready to play according to coach Mike Woodson. “We’re going to give him a little more time to practice,” Woodson said. The Hawks are off until Tuesday night against Memphis. Smith did make his presence felt by drawing a technical foul for arguing with referee Marc Davis in the first quarter. ... C/F Oleksiy Pecherov was again inactive for Washington.
