Crawford scores 29 points as Hawks avoid three-game slide with 105-99 win over Wizards

Crawford scores 29, Hawks beat Wizards 105-99

WASHINGTON — Jamal Crawford scored 29 points and the Atlanta Hawks avoided a three-game losing streak by beating the Washington Wizards 105-99 Thursday night.

Joe Johnson and Al Horford each scored 18 points in Atlanta’s first trip to the nation’s capital this season for the makeup of a game that was postponed Feb. 6 due to a blizzard which left two feet of snow in the area.

Andray Blatche had 30 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, in the midst of a stretch of three games in three nights because of the schedule change. The Wizards have lost five straight and seven of eight.

Crawford scored 12 points in the final 3:37 of the third quarter, making six free throws and connecting on two of his four made 3-pointers.

The free throws spurred a 13-1 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to help the Hawks take an 85-73 lead.

Blatche’s putback with 4:53 remaining pulled the Wizards to 92-89, but they would get no closer.

The Hawks pushed the lead back to eight, but JaVale McGee rammed home his eighth dunk of the game to pull the Wizards back to 101-97. Blatche missed a jump shot with a chance to get them closer and the Hawks made four of six free throws to seal the win.

McGee finished with nine rebounds and scored 10 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and his eight dunks ties Orlando’s Dwight Howard with the most in a game this season.

Both teams shot well in a tight first half, but also struggled to maintain possession of the ball. The Hawks shot 65 percent in the first quarter — 62 percent in the half — and Joe Johnson led the way with 14 points, but also had three of the Hawks’ 11 turnovers.

Jamal Crawford scored five points in the final 29.3 seconds of the first quarter to put Atlanta ahead 27-22. Following a turnover by Randy Foye, the Wizards 13th of the half, Marvin Williams took a halfcourt pass down the right side and dribbled up before swishing a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 54-51 halftime lead.

Blatche connected on five of six shots from the field to lead the Wizards with 13 points, but also committed six turnovers in the first half.

Nick Young scored 13 points of his 17 points in the second quarter for the Wizards, who dropped their fifth straight at home in front of a crowd of 13,625.

Mike Bibby finished with 16 points for the Hawks, who have won five straight over the Wizards, including three this season.

NOTES: Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has submitted paperwork to go from No. 0 to No. 6, and the NBA approved the change, league spokesman Tim Frank confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday. Arenas was given a season-ending suspension by the NBA for bringing guns to the locker room. He pleaded guilty to a felony gun possession charge in January and is scheduled to be sentenced March 26. … The Hawks toured The White House on Thursday morning, though they were unable to meet with President Obama. … Atlanta has now gone 31 games without a three-game losing skid, matching Denver for the longest active streak. … Alonzo Gee, signed by the Wizards to a 10-day contract on March 7, made his NBA debut in the second quarter. The undrafted rookie guard from Alabama scored two points in seven minutes. … Washington was the last team to play on three consecutive days when they played on March 6-8, 2000.