Washington Wizards: 3 must-win games in the month of January

3. Jan. 27 @ Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks may have one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference (10-27) but that hasn’t stopped them from being a thorn in the side of the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are 1-1 against Atlanta so far this season, with a recent loss coming last Wednesday.

Washington fell 113-99 to the Hawks after surrendering 35 points in the fourth quarter as a team. The Hawks starters outscored Washington’s 74-65 and the bench outscored them 39-34. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong for the Wizards and it came at the most inopportune time.

This time around, the Washington Wizards look to keep things in their favor to close the game. The key to the game will be limiting Atlanta’s starters. Their starting five all finished with double figures in scoring in their victory last Wednesday. As a team, they shot 50 percent from the field led by Ersan Ilysova’s 11 points in the fourth quarter.