Howard, Millsap, Hardaway lead Hawks past Wizards 114-99

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwight Howard was everything the Hawks were hoping for in his hometown debut. Tim Hardaway Jr. in a starring role? That was a major surprise. Hardaway scored 21 points and ignited a fourth-quarter outburst that carried new-look Atlanta to a 114-99 victory over the Washington Wizards in the season opener Thursday night.

Howard, who returned to the city where he grew up in the Hawks' biggest offseason move, did nothing to disappoint. He grabbed 19 rebounds — more than anyone had for Atlanta all of last season — and was a huge presence at the defensive end, dis- rupting shots and giving his teammates the freedom to be more aggressive on the perimeter.

"The worst thing you can do is lay an egg in the first game," said Howard, who also had 11 points and three blocks. "I think all of us were a little nervous in the first half because we want to do so well. We really want put on for this city. ... Once we kind of settled in, kind of got our feet wet, we took it to another level."

Paul Millsap, for one, didn't have to spend so much time banging on the boards. He took advantage at the offensive end, leading the Hawks with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting.

But Hardaway was the one who really came up big, which was totally unexpected given that he was largely confined to the bench and even spent time in the D-League during his first season with the Hawks.

"It's definitely a new page, a new start," Hardaway said. "But (last season) will always be the intro to me in Atlanta. That will always be in the back of my head, how they pushed me, how they got me prepared to get to this point in my career."

Hardaway scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including back-toback 3-pointers that helped Atlanta pull away, and wound up matching his best showing in a Hawks uniform. Thabo Sefolosha was another key contributor off the bench, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter.

The Hawks, who led only 81-80 heading to the final period, outscored the Wizards 33-19 over the final 12 minutes.

Markieff Morris led Washington with 22 points, but it was a tough night for the Wizards' dynamic backcourt duo. John Wall finished with only 12 points on 3-of-15 shooting, while Bradley Beal was held to 13 in the debut for new Washington coach Scott Brooks.

"We got a lot of good looks. Some went down, some didn't," Beal said. "But at the end of the day, we can't control our offense. We can control our defense and our effort. We just gave up the last quarter and a half."