One could only imagine what was going through the minds of Al Horford, his Atlanta Hawks teammates and their fans when they watched Paul Pierce deliver another dagger jumper in the waning moments of Game 5. We know what Pierce was thinking, as the veteran yelled "series!" at the Hawks' bench, similar to the way he called "game" when he banked in his game-winner in Game 3.
NBA playoffs scores 2015: Al Horford plays the hero in thrilling Hawks victory
Horford rode in on a white horse to save the Hawks’ right after it looked like Paul Pierce was once again going to be the hero.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
While yet another Pierce hero moment had to be deflating for Atlanta, Horford took it upon himself to make sure he would be the true hero, securing an 82-81 Hawks victory with a putback layup in the final seconds. The win sends Atlanta back to Washington with a 3-2 series lead, putting the Hawks on the brink of their first ever Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
As the clock neared zero, Dennis Schroder, not Jeff Teague, took John Wall off the dribble for a potential game-winning layup attempt. Wall got a piece of Schroder's shot, but Horford out hustled everybody to the loose ball with an impressive man's rebound before softly laying the ball in with 1.9 seconds left:
The game-winner capped off an incredible all-around performance from Horford, who has been consistently stellar all series, all postseason and all year. The big man finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks (even he was surprised by how good he was), and he also had a key assist on the break to DeMarre Carroll that put Atlanta up two points right before Pierce's three.
Horford shot 10-of-18 from the field and even went 1-of-1 from long distance. That three-pointer was just his second of the postseason, and it came at a crucial time in the fourth quarter. Kyle Korver had just hit his first three-pointer of the game to cut the Hawks' deficit to four, and Horford's bomb cut it down to one. It was part of a crucial 14-0 surge for Atlanta.
Not only was Horford exceptional offensively, but he came up big on defense as well. The big man blocked five shots, including this monster rejection in the third quarter:
Horford also had a key block during the Hawks’ 14-0 run, leading to a basket on the other end. There’s a reason Horford’s nickname is “Boss,” and on Wednesday night, he was both a boss and the hero in Atlanta.
3 other things we learned
The Warriors officially have their mojo back: Over the weekend, everybody was wondering what was wrong with the Warriors after they lost Game 3 to the Grizzlies to fall behind 2-1 in the series. Golden State has laughed in the face of adversity, destroying Memphis in Game 4 and then returning to Oracle Arena and doing it again in a 98-78 Game 5 victory.
The Warriors did what they do best, knocking down 14 3-pointers, getting out in transition (29-6 advantage in fast break points) and playing elite defense. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry led the way, while Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes got in on the offensive fun as well. When those role players complement the play of Curry and Thompson, Golden State is basically unbeatable.
John Wall is tough: Horford's game-winner spoiled the return of Wall. The Wizards' star suffered five non-displaced fractures in his left hand not even two weeks ago and couldn't dribble a ball earlier this week, but he put forth a gutty performance in Washington's Game 5 defeat.
In fact, Wall was the best player on the floor in the first half, pushing the tempo and finishing with that broken left hand in transition. He had 11 points and four assists as the Wizards opened up a six-point halftime lead. The second half was a major downer, as the point guard went just 2-of-9 with five turnovers, but he still deserves a ton of credit for getting out there and performing through pain. He finished with 15 points, seven assists and six turnovers.
The Grizzlies missed Tony Allen: Allen was a key cog in the Grizzlies' defensive machine that allowed them to slow down the Warriors in Games 2 and 3. The gritty guard struggled in Game 4, but there's no doubt Memphis missed his presence in Game 5 when he sat out with a hamstring injury.
Allen usually does an excellent job disrupting Golden State's offense on the perimeter, and without him, the Warriors got whatever they wanted offensively. Golden State racked up 28 assists on the night, and the offensive performance could have been even more prolific considering Curry missed several wide open threes and Draymond Green missed all five of his 3-pointers. The likely return of Allen in Game 6 will help, but it might be too late for the Grizzlies at this point.
Play of the Night
Horford's game-winner is the obvious choice for the Play of the Night, but since we showed that to you already, we'll go with this insane assist from Wall to Bradley Beal. The guy has eyes in the back of his head.
7 fun things
Final scores
Hawks 82, Wizards 81 (Peachtree Hoops recap | Bullets Forever recap)
Warriors 98, Grizzlies 78 (Golden State Of Mind recap | Grizzly Bear Blues recap)
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