Washington 115
Atlanta 99
Friday, April 28, 2017 07:30 PM
(ET)
Wall's 42 points help Wizards finish off Hawks
The Sports Xchange
Apr 28, 2017
ATLANTA -- Guards John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 73 points and the Washington Wizards defeated the Atlanta Hawks 115-99 on Friday to win their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Washington won the series four games to two and advances to the second round to meet Boston, which eliminated Chicago in six games.
Wall scored 20 points in the first half and finished with 42 points on 16-of-25 shooting. Beal had 17 in the first half and finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Wall also had eight assists.
The duo finished the series with 332 of the team's 640 total points in six games, 51.8 percent of Washington's offense.
Washington's Markieff Morris added 17 points and eight rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score 10.
Atlanta was led by Paul Millsap, who finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 46 minutes. Dennis Schroder had 26 points and 10 assists, his second straight double-double. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 points, but was 5 of 18 from the floor.
The Wizards led by 22 points in the second half, but Atlanta twice trimmed the lead to three points. Washington answered with six consecutive points, the last basket being a jumper by Wall with 3:31 left that restored the nine-point lead.
Washington got off to a hot start, with Morris making a pair of 3-pointers in the first four minutes to help stake the Wizards to a 17-10 lead. They led by as many as 10 points when Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3-pointer, one of four by the team in the first quarter, and wound up with a 30-23 lead.
The first quarter turned physical early. Atlanta center Dwight Howard knocked Washington's Jason Smith to the floor with an elbow to the chin. Officials reviewed the play, but ruled it a common foul rather than a flagrant foul.
Another incident nearly caused a fight with 51.9 seconds left. Beal scored on a breakaway slam and tumbled into the first row, believing incorrectly that he had been pushed by Atlanta's Kent Bazemore. Words were exchanged and both teams clustered near the basket. Bazemore and Smith were assessed technicals for pushing each other.
Washington continued to take advantage of Atlanta mistakes and led 65-46 at halftime. The Hawks had 15 turnovers in the first half, leading to 20 points for the Wizards.
The Wizards shot the ball exceptionally well in the half. The Wizards made 65.8 percent of their shots, including 6 of 10 on 3s, which offset the above-average 50 percent field-goal shooting by Atlanta.
Washington led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, but Atlanta refused to go away. Schroder scored 14 points in the quarter and the Hawks cut the margin to seven when Howard followed a missed shot with a slam. Washington took an 89-82 lead into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Washington C Jason Smith entered the game with 7:33 left in the first quarter. It was uncertain whether he would play because of sprained left knee. ... The Wizards are 7-0 all-time in a series where they had a 3-2 lead. ... Inactive for Washington were C Ian Mahinmi (left calf) and F Chris McCullough. Inactive for Atlanta for were F Ryan Kelly and F DeAndre Bembry.
Apr 28, 2017
ATLANTA -- Guards John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 73 points and the Washington Wizards defeated the Atlanta Hawks 115-99 on Friday to win their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Washington won the series four games to two and advances to the second round to meet Boston, which eliminated Chicago in six games.
Wall scored 20 points in the first half and finished with 42 points on 16-of-25 shooting. Beal had 17 in the first half and finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Wall also had eight assists.
The duo finished the series with 332 of the team's 640 total points in six games, 51.8 percent of Washington's offense.
Washington's Markieff Morris added 17 points and eight rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score 10.
Atlanta was led by Paul Millsap, who finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 46 minutes. Dennis Schroder had 26 points and 10 assists, his second straight double-double. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 points, but was 5 of 18 from the floor.
The Wizards led by 22 points in the second half, but Atlanta twice trimmed the lead to three points. Washington answered with six consecutive points, the last basket being a jumper by Wall with 3:31 left that restored the nine-point lead.
Washington got off to a hot start, with Morris making a pair of 3-pointers in the first four minutes to help stake the Wizards to a 17-10 lead. They led by as many as 10 points when Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3-pointer, one of four by the team in the first quarter, and wound up with a 30-23 lead.
The first quarter turned physical early. Atlanta center Dwight Howard knocked Washington's Jason Smith to the floor with an elbow to the chin. Officials reviewed the play, but ruled it a common foul rather than a flagrant foul.
Another incident nearly caused a fight with 51.9 seconds left. Beal scored on a breakaway slam and tumbled into the first row, believing incorrectly that he had been pushed by Atlanta's Kent Bazemore. Words were exchanged and both teams clustered near the basket. Bazemore and Smith were assessed technicals for pushing each other.
Washington continued to take advantage of Atlanta mistakes and led 65-46 at halftime. The Hawks had 15 turnovers in the first half, leading to 20 points for the Wizards.
The Wizards shot the ball exceptionally well in the half. The Wizards made 65.8 percent of their shots, including 6 of 10 on 3s, which offset the above-average 50 percent field-goal shooting by Atlanta.
Washington led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, but Atlanta refused to go away. Schroder scored 14 points in the quarter and the Hawks cut the margin to seven when Howard followed a missed shot with a slam. Washington took an 89-82 lead into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Washington C Jason Smith entered the game with 7:33 left in the first quarter. It was uncertain whether he would play because of sprained left knee. ... The Wizards are 7-0 all-time in a series where they had a 3-2 lead. ... Inactive for Washington were C Ian Mahinmi (left calf) and F Chris McCullough. Inactive for Atlanta for were F Ryan Kelly and F DeAndre Bembry.
