‘Andray Blatche’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The Atlanta Hawks did a great job of making the Washington Wizards look real good on their home court Saturday night. Seven Wizards players posted double-digit point margins, breaking a 12 game losing streak against Atlanta. Washington last victory over Atlanta was Jan. 11, 2008.

“Rarely do you see four games in five nights, four different cities, you come out with that kind of energy but our guys had great energy,” Coach Flip Saunders said.

It was a true team effort, combined with a failure of an Atlanta defense, that allowed ample room for the Washington offense to dominate in a 115-83 victory over a fifth seed playoff team.

“When you have good teams […] you don’t have slip off. When your bench comes in you become better, you get a different look. And our bench gives a different look,” Saunders said.

Forward Andray Blatche led his team with 23 points with guard John Wall right behind him with 19 buckets. Maurice Evans, Othyus Jeffers, and Larry Owens also contributed to what can be called a seamlessly played game.

“It feels great to the point where we’re finishing strong and getting ready for next year,” Jeffers said.

The reason the night resulted in a victory was because the team played as a unit, making the shift between on-court chemistry and players a transient one. At least nine players played 20 minutes each.

“Our bench came in and really helped us. It was spark in the first and second quarter and we just came in and had to keep it up,” Wall said.

Washington takes plays Boston on Monday at 7 p.m. and Cleveland on Wednesday at 8 p.m.