Wizards hold off Hawks

Johnson had a chance to win the game for Atlanta, but his jumper in the closing seconds hit the side of the rim, then the loose ball bounced around as the buzzer sounded.

Caron Butler also tallied 21 points and Antawn Jamison recorded 18 points for the Wizards, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Butler grabbed eight rebounds and Brendan Haywood totaled eight points and eight boards off the bench.

Tyronn Lue, who played for Washington from 2001-03, was the other Hawk in double figures with 18 points. Atlanta has lost six of seven.

With Washington holding a 93-88 advantage, Lue drained a trey with 5:02 left then Johnson buried a jumper to tie the contest approaching 3:30 to play.

Butler’s three-point play with 1:04 left, Washington’s first field goal in 4:20, made the score 96-93 then Lue made an acrobatic fall-away jumper to draw the Hawks within 96-95.

The second straight offensive foul called on Arenas gave the Hawks possession with 38 ticks left, but Josh Smith missed a jumper and Johnson misfired with just over two seconds remaining.

The Wizards used a 10-2 spurt nearing the end of the first period to take a 30-20 lead. The Hawks drew within one on multiple occasions in the second period, but ended up trailing 55-49 at the break.

The game was tied at 76-76 entering the fourth stanza, but the Wizards scored the first eight points of the period to stake claim to the edge. Arenas’ three-point play and Jarvis Hayes’ three-pointer capped the stretch.

Game Notes

Washington shot 47 percent from the floor, while Atlanta made 41.9 percent of its shots...Washington committed 21 turnovers...Both teams made eight treys...The Wizards have won nine of the last 10 contests in the series and the last six in Washington.