Kyle Kuzma poured in a game-high 29 points to help lead the visiting Washington Wizards to a 127-99 win over the Atlanta Hawks yesteday.
Jordan Poole added 20 points for Washington, which snapped a six-game losing streak and picked up its first road win since Dec. 21. Devi Avdija chipped in 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists and Bilal Coulibaly added 12 points for the Wizards, who shot 48.5 percent (47-for-97) from the floor. Corey Kispert scored 11 points for Washington.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 21 points and 10 assists, while Saddiq Bey added 16 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points for the Hawks, who have lost four of their last five games and are eight games under .500 for the first time this season. Dejounte Murray scored 13 points for Atlanta, which made just 32 of its 93 (34.4 percent) of its shots.
Murray’s 3-pointer gave the Hawks a 15-13 lead at the 5:37 mark of the first quarter. Coulibaly responded with a 3-pointer and gave the Wizards a lead that they would not give up again.
The Wizards led by as many as 13 points with 3:07 left before the Hawks answered with an 8-2 run. Kuzma then scored the final four points in the first half, including a buzzer-beating layup to give Washington a 58-47 halftime lead.
Kuzma led the Wizards with 22 first half points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor. Murray paced the Hawks with nine points in the first half. Atlanta struggled mightily in the opening half, connecting on 16 of 52 (30.8 percent) shots, including a 7-for-25 (28 percent) showing from 3-point range.
Washington outscored Atlanta 41-24 in the third quarter and held a 99-71 advantage entering the final quarter.
The Hawks’ streak of 94 consecutive games with at least 100 points ended Saturday. The streak was the third-longest in NBA history.
Saturday’s victory was the first for Washington in the series since Feb. 28, 2023, and first in the last seven meetings with Atlanta.
