Newton Citizen

WASHINGTON - Marvin Williams scored 28 points, and the Atlanta Hawks completed a season sweep of the Washington Wizards with a 98-89 victory Monday night.

Al Horford added 16 points, and Joe Johnson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who broke open a tie game with a 20-6 run that started late in the third quarter and went well into the fourth.

The Hawks went 4-0 against the Wizards, sweeping the series for the first time since winning all four during the 1997-98 season. Atlanta was in need of a slump-busting win, having lost five of seven after Sunday night's one-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points for the Wizards, who were more short-handed than usual when Caron Butler was scratched with tightness in his left hamstring. Washington fell to 0-13 against the Southeast Division, just three games away from becoming the first NBA team to go winless within its division.

Lethargic from the long night of travel - a snowstorm delayed Atlanta's arrival until the wee hours - the Hawks let the Wizards hang around for 21/2 quarters. The score was 61-61 when Williams' jumper gave Atlanta the lead for good. Dunks by Zaza Pachulia and Flip Murray closed out the third quarter as the Hawks went ahead 71-63.

Williams then scored eight of the first 10 Hawks points of the fourth quarter, including a three-point play that made it 81-67. The Wizards didn't get within single digits again until the final minutes.

The most interesting numbers to watch in the first half came from the assist battle between Atlanta's Johnson and Washington's Dominic McGuire. They were tied at eight apiece going into the final seconds, when Johnson got No. 9 with a pass that set up Williams' 3-pointer from the baseline with 6 seconds to go. The shot put the Hawks ahead 46-45 at the break.

McGuire got only one assist in the second half to finish with nine.