Beal Leads Wizards to Victory, Spoiling Snyder's Debut as Hawks' Coach in a Close Game

The surprising team lost 119-116 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night in coach Snyder's tour of Atlanta.
Returning to the bench for the first time in 10 months, Quinn Snyder has a quick idea of ​​the challenges facing the Atlanta Hawks.

The surprising team lost 119-116 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night in coach Snyder's tour of Atlanta.

Bradley Beal scored 37 points, Kyle Kuzma paced the shorthanded Wizards, leading Trae Young and the Hawks.

Delon Wright, Daniel Gafford and Kuzma scored on three drives for the Atlanta Stars in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

Young made just 1 of 8 shots in the fourth quarter. Kuzma also stole Young's pass to give the Wizards their first lead since the second quarter.

"I wear a long hat," Gafford said. "We're really focused on stopping at the end."

Beal hit a jumper with 35.3 seconds left to give the Wizards a 117-113 lead.
Young, who led Atlanta with 31 points, finally got one with a game-tying 3-pointer that pulled the Hawks within one point with 30.6 remaining.

But Beal went back to work. As the clock ticked down, Dejounte drove to Murray before cutting to the right on the final point of the night.

"Art is a thing," Gafford marvels.

That's enough. Young took advantage of several opportunities to put the game away, making a long rebound from a missed 3-pointer to get the ball back, but he also finished his second attempt behind the backhand.

"We did a good job of being resilient," Beal said. "We just find a way to win."

Hawks hope Snyder can spark their underachieving team to make a second playoff appearance this season.

It was another tough loss, at least for the first night.

"I'm still getting to know the team," said Snyder, who was officially hired 48 hours ago. "You saw some tonight."

Kristaps Porzingis watched from the bench as the Wizards dominated the Hawks with a two-man offensive team.

Gafford scored 13 points and was the only Washington player in double figures.

Snyder spent eight seasons as Utah's coach before stepping down last June after the Jazz were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.

Snyder, 56, said he left coaching to spend more time with his family, but he backed out of the opportunity to lead the Hawks sooner than expected.

He had his work cut out for him. "We will continue to build on it and work on it," he said.

Atlanta fired McMillan with a 29-30 record at the All-Star break after failing to meet expectations from a previous Eastern Conference finals appearance.

Joe Prunty guided the Hawks to a pair of victories as interim coach before Snyder signed a five-year contract. Prunty remains with the team as Snyder's primary assistant.

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