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Hawks open home portion of schedule vs. Wizards

Dec 28, 2011 - 4:00 PM (Sports Network) - The Atlanta Hawks will open the home portion of their schedule tonight in search of their seventh straight win at Philips Arena over the Washington Wizards.

Atlanta opened its season in impressive fashion on Tuesday in North Jersey when six Hawks scored in double figures as Atlanta destroyed the sluggish New Jersey Nets, 106-70.

Vladimir Radmanovic had a team-high 17 points, Marvin Williams chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds and Zaza Pachulia totaled 13 and 11 for the Hawks, who had not given up fewer points in a regular season game since a 76-65 win at Cleveland on May 2, 1999.

"We applied pressure pretty much the whole game. Our bench picked up right where our starters left off," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. "It though it was a total team effort."

Atlanta's other double-digit scorers included Jeff Teague (13), Tracy McGrady (12) and Joe Johnson (11).

The Wizards, meanwhile, lost to those same Nets the day before in their home opener, 90-84.

Nick Young and Jordan Crawford scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Wizards. John Wall, last season's Rookie of the Year runner-up, had 13 points on a 3-of-13 effort from the field.

Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee both had 11 points in the loss.

Washington held a one-point advantage heading into the fourth, then scored the first seven points of the quarter to grab a 74-66 lead. The Nets, though, dominated down the stretch, using a 21-5 run to put things away.

"We turned the ball over and didn't execute down the stretch and it cost us," said Wall.

Blatche was particularly unhappy after the setback, questioning his role in the offense.

"You can't keep having me pick-and-pop and shooting jump shots. Give me the ball in the paint," Blatche said. "That's where I'm most effective at. I've been saying that since training camp: I need the ball in the paint."

The Hawks have dominated Washington recently, winning 12 straight in the series until the Wizards broke through on April 9 in D.C.