Josh Smith reaches 900 career blocks in a Hawks win over the Wizards

On Friday night at Philips Arena in Atlanta Georgia the Atlanta Hawks forward Josh SmithJosh Smith made NBA history.

With 4:26 remaining in the game the 23-year-old rejected a shot attempted by Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert ArenasGilbert Arenas.

In his sixth season in the NBA, all played with Atlanta who took Smith as the 17th overall pick in the 2004 draft, he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach No. 900. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Shaquille O’Neal was the reigning youngest block king who got to 900 when he was 24 years old.

Smith started the play and ended the play. His block led to an Atlanta fast break that was finished with an alley-oop pass from point Mike BibbyMike Bibby that he slammed down with a left-handed dunk.

The Hawks as a team played much better defensively than they did in the opener against the Indiana Pacers. After letting the Pacers get 65 points in the first half the Hawks surrendered only 44 points to the Wizards in the opening half on Friday night.

Atlanta had a 58-44 lead after the first 24 minutes of action. A huge disparity in free throws helped give the Hawks a comfortable lead going into the locker room. Atlanta had 19 free-throw attempts and made 17 of them, while the Wizards had just six attempts and only made three.

And free throws were definitely the difference in the 100-89 victory over the Wizards. The Hawks were almost perfect from the line going 31 of 34. The Wizards went 14 of 22.

“They got to the free throw line,” Gilbert Arenas said. “That’s where the game was won.”

It was a great sign to see the Hawks defense respond and step up to the challenge after letting Indiana score at will during the opener’s first three quarters.

The Hawks had seven blocks to go with 5 steals. They also out-rebounded Washington 47 to 40.

Smith also had a team-high 20 points and 8 rebounds. Al HorfordAl Horford made got 10 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocked shots. He is now two-for-two on the season in finishing with a double-double.

Both Bibby and shooting guard Joe Johnson had poor shooting nights going a combined 8 of 25 from the field, including 0 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Jamal CrawfordJamal Crawford stepped in nicely for the Hawks off of the bench with 16 points to lead all bench players. The Hawks bench outscored the Wizards bench 37-31.