Wizards host Hawks in rematch of season opener

WASHINGTON -- Wizards center Marcin Gortat called winless Washington's previous game a "must win." They lost to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night with another late collapse. Whether that makes Friday's matchup with the Atlanta Hawks a must, must win or not, John Wall and company surely want to break through.

The Wizards (0-3) host the Hawks (3-1) at 7:00 p.m. in a rematch from their opening night loss at Atlanta. Since falling 114-99 on Oct. 27, Washington fell 112-103 at Memphis and dropped its home opener 113-103 as Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points. In each game, the Wizards fell apart in the fourth quarter. Toronto converted 21 turnovers by Washington into 30 points.

"Tonight the points off turnovers," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. "I think we had 20 turnovers for over 30 points. That's hard to overcome. Defensively, in the first half we gave up too many easy 3s that we have to make sure we close out and know our personnel -- whoever has the hot hand or whoever's a 3-point shooter."

Atlanta dropped its first game of the season Wednesday 123-116 as Los Angeles Lakers guard Lou Williams scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.

"They just played better than us. I give credit when credit is due," Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said. "They came out with a sense of urgency in that second half. (Giving up) 39 in the third quarter and 33 in the fourth is unacceptable."

The Hawks held their opponents under 100 points in each of their first three games.

"You can't ever feel good if you give up that kind of offense in two consecutive quarters," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

In each of their three games, the Wizards fell apart in the fourth quarter. Atlanta outscored Washington 33-19 in the fourth quarter.

Dwight Howard had 31 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to the Lakers. The Hawks center had 11 points and 19 rebounds in the first meeting with Washington. Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 28 points against the Wizards.

Wall, who had two knee surgeries in the offseason, had 33 points, 11 assists and nine turnovers against the Raptors. Otto Porter went for 23 points and 11 rebounds.

"It's still early. Don't count us out," Porter said. "At the same time, we just have to take and learn from these early games. We're trying to take steps, especially going forward, with close games like that. We have to find someone to push it over the top."

Spotty bench play contributed to Washington's setbacks. Brooks turned to rookie guard Tomas Satoransky in the second half over backup point Trey Burke. That swap could happen again against Atlanta.

"It's definitely something that's going to be considered," Brooks said of using the 6-foot-7 Satoransky, who joined the Wizards four years after being selected in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft. "Tomas brings a lot of energy and brings some toughness and has good size and athleticism. He's played that position his entire life. I thought he's had some great moments in exhibition."

Six Hawks are averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Millsap (17.0), Howard (15.5) and Hardaway (14.8).