ATLANTA -- The Washington Wizards moved up the Eastern Conference standings with their first win in Atlanta in six years. The Hawks are in a free-fall in the conference and must decide if a trade-deadline move is needed to stop their losing streak. John Wall scored 21 points and Washington recovered after almost blowing a 20-point lead to beat the reeling Hawks 114-97 on Wednesday night. "We needed it real bad," said Washingtons Trevor Ariza, who made an improbable 75-foot shot to end the third quarter. "Especially if were trying to make the playoffs these last 28 games. This one was big for us. Especially knowing that we havent won here in a while. I think that gives us a little bit of momentum." Paul Millsap had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Elton Brand, a fill-in starter at centre, had 20 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have lost seven straight. Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal each had 19 points for the Wizards, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Washington ended an 11-game skid in Atlanta, winning for the first time since Jan. 11, 2008. The Wizards moved a half-game ahead of Atlanta in the battle for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. "We know its a two- or three-game spread from the third spot and its two or three games away from being in the eighth spot or out of the playoffs, so its definitely a tight race right now," Wall said. "Weve just got to find a way to get on a streak. We havent been on a good streak. I think its time for our team. We deserve a winning streak." The Hawks, who trailed by 20 points in the first half, made a third-quarter charge to twice cut the deficit to one point. The Wizards closed the period with 3-pointers by Martell Webster and Ariza. Arizas 3-pointer was the shot of the game -- a buzzer-beater from near the free throw line on the other end of the floor to end the period. "Once I let it go, it felt good," Ariza said. "I tried to do my best to go to the bench not get too excited because we had another quarter to go. Im just happy we got the win." Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said the 3s by Webster and Ariza turned the momentum. "I think its a very fine margin of error for every team in the NBA," Budenholzer said. "I think we had it down to two. Webster hit a tough 3-pointer from the corner. Then we let our guard down a little bit, and (Ariza) made a shot from the three-quarter court. It went from a two-point game to an eight-point game. That was a tough 15-second stretch." Washington had lost three straight and five of six before beating the Hawks. The Hawks had only nine players in uniform. Gustavo Ayon, who had been the fill-in starting centre, was held out after hurting his right shoulder in Tuesday nights loss at Indiana. Guard DeMarre Carroll missed his third straight game with a left hamstring strain. Brand, 34, who has averaged 16 minutes as a backup, played 35 minutes and set his season high for points, while matching his high for rebounds. Brand wouldnt blame the teams losing streak on a shortage of players. "It seems like were dealing with a myriad of injuries, but we definitely have enough players to win," Brand said. "We need to find a way to win and get this monkey off our back and stay in the race." The Hawks have a severe shortage of players at centre. They already have lost All-Star Al Horford for the season after he had surgery to repair his torn right pectoral muscle. Horfords backup, Pero Antic, is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right ankle. Budenholzer said the injuries do not add urgency to make a deal before Thursdays trade deadline. Wizards centre Marcin Gortat took advantage of the Hawks lack of size, scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds. Martell Webster had 13 points. NOTES: The official play-by-play listed Arizas shot as a 57-footer, but replays confirmed the shot was much longer, launched from near the Hawks free-throw line. ... Washington had seven players score in double figures. ... Ariza made five 3-pointers. ... Kyle Korver made his first 3-pointer of the game late in the first half, extending his NBA record to 122 consecutive games with a 3. ... G Cartier Martin, also making his fourth start, filled in for Carroll and scored only four points. Blake Griffin Jersey .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Kawhi Leonard Clippers Jersey . The 12th-ranked Haas served well throughout the match at the Ibirapuera arena, allowing only one break point to the 152nd-ranked Italian. Both players held serve until the first-set tiebreak, when Haas stepped up his game to easily clinch the set. https://www.clipperslockerroom.com/Avery-Bradley-City-Edition-Jersey/ . "Theyve been good against everybody," he said. Carlos Gomez launched a three-run homer and Matt Garza battled into the seventh inning for his first win in four starts to help the Brewers continue their mastery of the Rockies with a 7-4 victory Saturday. Angel Delgado Jersey . City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play. Landry Shamet Jersey .The rookie goalie made 36 saves to help the Calgary Flames blank their Pacific Division rivals 1-0 on Saturday following a 48-hour ordeal that included lost baggage, a cancelled flight and a new pair of contact lenses.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - From his perch atop Regan Smiths pit box, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a clear view of the Daytona International Speedway finish line. He thought he was about to watch Smith win as his driver pulled away from the pack on the final lap Friday night in the Nationwide Series race. Then Kasey Kahne came charging through the outside lane, pulled alongside Smith and nipped him at the finish line. No worries for Earnhardt: Kahne also was in one of JR Motorsports Chevrolets. "I was just glad that it was one of our cars when I saw somebody flying by on the top," Earnhardt said. "When I got a glimpse of it, I was happy to see it was (Kahne.) It was Kahnes first Nationwide victory since a 2007 win at Bristol while driving for Ray Evernham. He hoped to translate it into another victory Saturday night in the Sprint Cup Series as Kahne looks for his first win of the season. Kahne is the only driver of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers yet to win this season. "This will carry. I havent won in a while. To win in anything is good," Kahne said. "When I first came into this series in 02, I struggled to pick up stock cars. Id go and race my sprint car and could still win in sprint car races and Id come back feeling like I could win. ... Id run 15th or 20th, but I still felt way better coming back into that race after running my sprint car. Any momentum is good momentum." Kahne was 12th on a restart with three laps to go when Chase Elliott, another JR Motorsports driver, sputtered at the front of the field when the race went to green. It stacked up traffic behind Elliott and triggered a four-car crash that halted the restart. Kahne manoeuvred his way through the accident and found himself eighth when the race resumed for a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish. He weaved his way through traffic, but didnt appear to be in the mix for a shot at the win as Smith pulled away from the pack. But as the field hurtled through the final turn, Kyle Larson jumped out of line and made it three-wide behind Smith. Kahne moved into the top lane and, using a push from Ryan Sieg, charged alongside Smith and beat him to the line by .021 seconds. "Everything I did tonight was wrong — I looked in my mirror and would be like Go and then decide not to and itd be the right move," Kahne said. "I didnt really do a whole lot right, but at the end, II got a big push from (Sieg) and was able to get by Regan there.dddddddddddd Just had tons of momentum there coming off turn four and had a fast car." Smith couldnt offer a better last-lap strategy then the one he used. "If I go up any higher, we probably all wreck right there," Smith said. "I dont know how to do it any different. Ill have to study the tape and see where I messed up. I had a pretty good sized gap, but at that point you cant crack the throttle or drag the brake. I lost just enough momentum that it didnt quite work out." It was the sixth win this season for JR Motorsports, and second consecutive following Kevin Harvicks victory last week at Kentucky. "It feels good to win. These guys have won five times already this year, so its nice to get one. It was a fun race." Smith, one of JR Motorsports two full-time drivers, wound up second in his return to Daytona following his victory in Februarys season-opener. Despite the defeat, Smith reclaimed the series points lead from Elliott Sadler. "Its kind of bittersweet," Smith said. "Im disappointed for the team, Im disappointed for my guys, and selfishly Im disappointed. But, for JR Motorsports, Im happy. A 1-2 finish is great. Its kind of a weird mix of emotions right now. "Im happy for the company and frustrated for the 7 team." Earnhardt was thrilled with the 1-2 finish and the sixth win for his company. "Im proud of the company and what theyve been able to accomplish this year. Sieg was a career-best third. "It was a win for us," Sieg said. "Hopefully it will bring some more sponsors. It would be nice to have a full-time sponsor, hopefully we turned some eyes." The performance earned huge praise from Earnhardt, who said he spent time watching Sieg race during last months race at Dover. "He impressed the hell out of me. I had not really paid a ton of attention to him prior to that, and I know those guys run on a shoestring (budget), but he had a couple of runs during the race at Dover that were better than anyone outside the top-five," Earnhardt said. "Its great to see him run well because I think he does a lot with very little." Ryan Reed finished a career-best fourth and was followed by Larson, Joey Logano and Darrell Wallace Jr. The top 10 was rounded out by Jeremy Clements, Trevor Bayne and Mike Wallace. ' ' '