After it looked like Paul Pierce had delivered another dagger to the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford saved the Hawks with a putback in the final seconds after a missed layup by Dennis Schroder to give Atlanta an 82-81 Game 5 victory over the Washington Wizards. Horford's basket spoiled John Wall's return to the lineup and gave the Hawks a 3-2 series lead:
Wizards vs. Hawks 2015 results: 3 things we learned in Atlanta’s thrilling 82-81 Game 5 victory
Horford hit the game-winning layup in the final seconds after Paul Pierce nearly beat the Hawks again.
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It looked like Pierce was going to be the hero once again. The Truth nearly blew the game with a bad turnover that led to a go-ahead layup for DeMarre Carroll on the other end, but Pierce responded with a clutch corner three:
Horford then saved the day for Atlanta to cap off a wild fourth quarter.
The Hawks held a slim one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Wizards went on a 9-0 run as Atlanta didn't score a point in the frame until there was 6:33 remaining. When all hope appeared to be lost for the Hawks, Kyle Korver finally hit a three after missing his first four, and Horford followed that up with a three of his own. Atlanta had been 3-of-19 from long range before those two makes, and all of a sudden, it was a one-point game again.
Horford put the Hawks back in the lead with a mid-range jumper, and his monster block on the other end led to a wide open jumper for Schroder, who was on the floor over Jeff Teague during a crucial 14-0 run. Schroder then forced a turnover and hit a running floater to give Atlanta a five-point lead before Pierce ended the run with a huge three-pointer. After several empty possessions, Marcin Gortat tied the game with a hook, setting the stage for the wild finish.
Horford led the way for the Hawks with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Paul Millsap and Teague both had 14 points, although Teague didn't play at all down the stretch as Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer stuck with Schroder even in the final minutes. Teague had seven of the Hawks' 23 turnovers on the night, which was a season high for Atlanta.
Wall had 15 points and seven assists in his return from a broken hand. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Washington had 19 turnovers of its own, shot just 37.5 percent overall and was 4-of-17 from three.
The game was sloppy from the start, with the Hawks turning the ball over at a high rate and the Wizards struggling to knock down shots in the opening minutes. However, Wall made it a point right off the bat to show that his injury wasn’t going to be a problem, turning on the jets on several occasions and finishing with that injured left hand on the break.
Atlanta opened up a four-point lead after one, and with Wall on the bench, the margin stretched out to eight on the back of Hawks reserve big man Mike Muscala. The youngster poured in eight consecutive points, but the success for Atlanta was short-lived.
Wall returned to the game with 5:13 to play in the second quarter, and the Wizards outscored the Hawks, 19-8, the rest of the half. Wall was the catalyst for the run, pushing the pace and getting Washington easy buckets in transition. The Wizards outscored the Hawks, 10-0, in fast break points in the first half, leading to a 47-41 advantage at halftime.
Washington quickly went up 10 at the outset of the third quarter, thanks in part to this ridiculous pass from Wall:
Atlanta responded with a 7-0 run of its own, and the lead finally changed hands again with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Hawks’ defense really turned up the intensity in the frame, holding the Wizards scoreless for over four minutes during a 10-0 surge. It certainly can be hard to score when Horford swats shots away with authority like this:
The third quarter ended with the Hawks up, 63-62, setting up the frantic finish. Game 6 is Friday night back on the Wizards’ home floor, and Atlanta will look to close the series out on the road.
3 things we learned
1. Al Horford is a boss
Horford made his presence felt right from the very start, blocking three shots in the first quarter to go along with some solid work on the offensive glass and four points. He was consistently great the rest of the game all the way up to that final play, shooting 10-of-18 from the field and grabbing six offensive rebounds, including the biggest one of the contest at the end. It was pure hustle from Horford, and it may have saved the Hawks’ season.
2. John Wall is a tough son of a gun
Wall suffered five fractures in his left hand less than two weeks ago, and there he was pushing the pace and hounding Teague right from the start. Wall tailed off after his hot start and shot just 2-of-9 in the second half, in addition to turning the ball over five times. However, he deserves a ton of credit for fighting through the pain for 37 minutes.
3. Mike Budenholzer has some big cojones
The Coach of the Year set himself up to be criticized in a big way when he decided to roll with Schroder over Teague down the stretch. Schroder really struggled throughout much of the game with poor shot selection and bad turnovers, but the youngster came up with some big plays during crunch time and rewarded Budenholzer’s faith in him.
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