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Korver, Hawks keep Wizards winless

ATLANTA — Nene prayed, Randy Wittman pleaded and the Wizards insisted their video showed Washington had its first win.

The efforts all just added more heartbreak as the Wizards remained winless.

Kyle Korver hit a long 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime and the Atlanta Hawks beat Washington 101-100 on Wednesday night, extending the Wizards’ franchise-worst start to 0-10 when officials ruled their last-second shot came too late.

Korver, who had 16 points, hit his fifth 3-pointer after Kevin Seraphin’s baseline jumper gave Washington a 100-98 lead.

Following Korver’s shot, Seraphin missed a hook shot. Martell Webster rebounded the miss for Washington under the basket and scored on a layup as the buzzer sounded.

One official initially ruled the basket was good and some Washington players celebrated as they rushed off the court.

“We all ran back here,” said Webster in the locker room. “We thought we had won. Our video guy is showing it over and over.”

Seraphin thought the winless streak was over: “I said, `We got it! We got it!”’

The officials conferred and ruled the basket was late.

Wittman, the Washington coach, rushed over from the bench and protested.

Nene, who remained on the court, said he prayed as the officials reviewed the video replay and then confirmed Webster’s follow-up shot was late.

The shot was very close.

“Our video showed it’s good,” Wittman said.

The standings tell a different story for the league’s only winless team.

Washington became only the 13th team in NBA history to open a season with 10 straight losses, according to STATS LLC. The 2009-10 New Jersey Nets had the worst start in NBA history at 0-18.

Seraphin led Washington with 21 points and 10 rebounds. A.J. Price had 14 points.

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 25 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Al Horford had 15 points, a career-high 10 assists and nine rebounds. Devin Harris had 13.

Korver launched his game-winner from about three feet beyond the 3-point line. He made five of 12 3s for the game. He said that was too many misses.

“It was time I didn’t leave another one at the front of the rim,” Korver said. “I left about 10 at the front of the rim.”

Asked if Korver’s shot followed the script, Hawks coach Larry Drew smiled and said “That 3 that he hit? Yeah, I’ll take credit for that.”

With Washington leading 98-96 in the extra period, Horford missed two free throws with 22.3 seconds remaining, but the Hawks retained possession when the Wizards knocked the second miss out of bounds.

DeShawn Stevenson inbounded the ball to Horford, who scored on a layup to pull the Hawks even with 19.5 seconds remaining.

Nene had 12 points in his season debut, though he didn’t start. He missed the first nine games with a left foot injury. Trevor Ariza had 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Wizards, including a 3-pointer in overtime.

The Wizards had a 58-37 advantage in rebounds.

“For the first time we really played,” Nene said. “We played good.

“If we can play like that against the Hawks, we can play against anybody.”

With Washington leading 87-86, Nene stripped the ball from Smith, setting up a layup by Price which pushed the lead to three points. A layup by Teague cut the Wizards’ lead to 89-88. Horford missed a jumper for Atlanta. Nene made one of two free throws with 10.3 seconds left, giving Washington a 90-88 lead.

Nene fouled Harris with 3.7 seconds remaining. Harris made both free throws to tie the game at 90-all. Shaun Livingston missed a 3-pointer to force the overtime.

There were 20 lead changes in the game, including 10 in the first half. The Hawks led 50-47 at the break and stretched the lead to 11 points at 66-55 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Korver. The Wizards answered with nine straight points, seven on free throws.

Notes: The Hawks paid a halftime tribute to former star forward Dan Roundfield, who played for the Pistons, Indiana, Atlanta and Washington. Roundfield was 59 when he drowned on Aug. 6 while helping his wife, Bernie, in rough water near Aruba. Roundfield’s wife and other family members attended the ceremony. ... Horford made only 1 of 10 free throws. ... Wizards F Trevor Booker was held out with a strained right knee. ... Wizards rookie Bradley Beal fouled out in the first minute of overtime with six points and four assists. ... Drew said a flu virus that went through the team no longer is an issue. ... The Hawks have won nine straight over the Wizards in Atlanta. Washington’s last win at Philips Arena was on Jan. 11, 2008.

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