Wizards help Knicks by beating Hawks

WASHINGTON -- A little magic from the Wizards helped the Knicks last night.

John Wall scored 25 points as Washington beat the Hawks, 101-97, leaving the Knicks 11/2 games behind eighth-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings.

Drew Gooden finished with 16 points and Wall scored 13 in the last 7:16 of the third quarter. Jeff Teague had 19 points and Paul Millsap 17 for Atlanta, which has lost six straight and 20 of 26.

Washington led 99-89 with 2:38 left, but the Hawks scored eight straight points, including three free throws by Lou Williams and a three-point play by Teague with 39.8 seconds to play. After Marcin Gortat blocked Teague's shot with 11.1 seconds left, Gooden hit two free throws to secure the win.

"I think every game our group has shown flashes and been good," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team played well despite missing three of its five leading scorers. "When we play with really good energy and we compete, you can see where we can have the results we're looking for."-- AP