The Atlanta Hawks never found their footing in a night defined by Washington’s blistering start and CJ McCollum’s shooting barrage.

Washington opened with a 45-point first quarter and hit its first eight 3-pointers, burying the Hawks in an early avalanche that led to a 132-113 loss Tuesday night. McCollum delivered a season-high 46 points and drilled 10-of-13 from deep as the Wizards snapped a 14-game losing streak.

Atlanta, which had won two straight entering the night, fell to 1-2 in NBA Cup play and was effectively eliminated from advancing. The Hawks pulled their veterans with 6:39 left, trailing 125-99.

The Wizards’ surge began immediately. Atlanta called a timeout less than four minutes in after McCollum hit his third straight 3, while the Hawks started just 1-of-7 from the field. Moments later, after a failed challenge, Corey Kispert buried another open 3 and McCollum added his fourth, stretching a first-quarter lead that ballooned to 29.

As the deficit widened, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said the issues snowballed.

In his postgame remarks, Snyder said the Hawks struggled to stay connected defensively as the Wizards kept scoring.

“They looked unstoppable,” Snyder said. “We did everything to try to stop [McCollum]. Trapped him, changed a few coverages. It really wasn’t about that. I just thought we lost our focus defensively … we cut it to 13, but we couldn’t sustain that. And give them credit.”

Despite the early hole, Atlanta pieced together a brief second-quarter push. Jalen Johnson delivered the highlight of the night when he rose to block Bub Carrington’s attempted one-handed dunk at the rim, energizing a run that trimmed the deficit to 13. But Washington quickly regrouped, scoring 77 points in the first half and never allowing the margin to dip into single digits.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points with eight rebounds, and Onyeka Okongwu added 20 points to lead Atlanta’s offense. But the Hawks’ defensive connectivity faltered under the weight of Washington’s shooting. The Wizards made their first seven 3s and finished with 19 made threes overall. Alex Sarr complemented McCollum’s outburst with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Dyson Daniels said the early barrage forced Atlanta into compromised coverages.

“It’s tough,” Daniels said as he described the mental challenge of trying to slow the Wizards once they got rolling. “When they start a game like that, 8-of-8 from 3 … you kind of have to be close to them, pay more attention to them, and that’s when other things start to open up. They exploited [Sarr] on the roll because we were hugged up to CJ and Kispert. But yeah, we got fried tonight.”

Daniels added that Atlanta’s offense generated good looks early, but the Hawks “were kind of playing catch-up the whole time.”

Mouhamed Gueye echoed the same theme, describing the frustration of defending well only to watch shots fall anyway.

“When they start making everything it’s hard, like you get discouraged so easily,” Gueye said. “You play great defense 24 seconds, and the last second they make a shot. It’s hard. So just kind of flush it off and focus on the next one.”

The Hawks allowed Washington’s lead to reach 33 before both teams emptied their benches in the final minutes. Atlanta’s two-game win streak ended with its most lopsided defeat since opening night.

Now, with NBA Cup advancement off the table, the Hawks turn their attention to stabilizing defensively and regrouping for the next stretch of their schedule.

Atlanta hosts Cleveland on Friday at State Farm Arena in its final NBA Cup group-stage game.