Washington Wizards: Previewing their 5-game road trip

Atlanta Hawks, Jan. 27

The Washington Wizards’ final stop on their road trip pits them against a familiar foe in the Atlanta Hawks. Their meeting on Jan. 27 is the third of four meetings between the two Eastern Conference foes.

The Hawks are 12-31 this season with a 1-1 record against the Wizards. They hold the most recent win over Washington after a 113-94 victory back on Dec. 27. Atlanta’s starters all finished in double-figure scoring while Ersan Ilyasova went for 20 points and nine rebounds. Marco Belinelli also went off for 19 points off the bench.

This is another one of those “must-win” games if the Wizards want to be considered a contender in the East. They lost back on Dec. 27 after getting outscored 35-23 in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter scoring has been the Wizards’ Achilles heel this season.

In wins, Washington is averaging 27.0 points and shooting 47.6 percent from the field per game in the fourth quarter. In losses, they’re averaging 23.7 points and shooting 36.9 percent from the floor per game.

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The Washington Wizards will need to close out their road trip strong when Jan. 27 arrives. Getting a victory here will be paramount in calling this road trip a successful one.