Paul Pierce almost did it again, but after his three-point shot at the buzzer was waved off, the Atlanta Hawks are going to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1970 after beating the Washington Wizards, 94-91, in Game 6 of the second round series. DeMarre Carroll led the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Hawks vs. Wizards 2015 final score: 3 things we learned as Atlanta survived and advanced
The Hawks advance to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Pierce came close to sending the game to overtime, but his off-balance attempt came just after the clock hit zeroes.
John Wall was great for the Hawks with 20 points and 13 assists in his second game back with a broken wrist, but it wasn't enough.
The East's top seed, the Hawks will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, but they made up for it by attacking the offensive glass. The teams combined for 25 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters and the game remained tight -- the Hawks grabbed 42.9 percent of their missed shots. The Wizards, however, couldn't convert. They were just 3-of-13 on their second chance shots. The Hawks led, 45-39, at the half thanks to 15 points and eight rebounds from Paul Millsap.
The Hawks came out of the third quarter looking like they did in their mid-season run. They jumped out to a 14-point lead thanks to an 18-4 run that started in the second quarter. The lead ballooned to 15 at one point, but Wall did his best to keep the Wizards in it. They pulled to within six and trailed by eight heading into the fourth.
Both teams found their offensive groove to start the fourth quarter. The Hawks moved the ball crisply and the Wizards relied on the play of Wall. The Wizards trailed by eight with with less than seven minutes to play, a 7-0 run capped by a Wall steal and dish up to Bradley Beal, who had 29 points, for a dunk made it a one point game with 4:30 left.
The run didn't stop there, though. Beal hit a jumper to give the Wizards an 88-87 lead, their first since the second quarter. Pierce had a chance to give the Wizards a four-point lead with 2:07 to play, but missed a wide open three.
On the other end of the court, Millsap hit a jumper to retake the lead for the Hawks with 1:47 to go. After misses by both teams, John Wall hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 89 with 1:15 to play.
The Hawks answered when Jeff Teague found Carroll in the lane with 57.9 seconds to play to take a two-point lead. Nene missed a layup on a horrible possession from the Wizards after a timeout and the Hawks had a chance to pull away. Teague made a no-look pass to Carroll again to give the Hawks a four-point lead with 30 seconds to play.
The Wizards couldn't answer on the next possession, but the Hawks made things interesting by turning it over. After a foul, Garrett Temple hit two free throws with 7.8 left. Al Horford hit only one free throw and the Wizards trailed by only three with 6.4 seconds to play.
Then Paul Pierce happened. Again. But this time, he didn't get the shot off. The Hawks won, 94-91. Their prize? LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
3 things we learned:
1. The Hawks’ big men made the difference
Not to discredit Teague -- he had 20 points and seven assists -- but the Hawks' frontcourt was unstoppable against the Wizards. Millsap had 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half as he had his way against the Wizards' defenders. The Wizards didn't have anyone who could guard him. He was too big for Pierce or Otto Porter and was too quick for Marcin Gortat and Nene. The Wizards had no answer for Horford or Carroll, either. Millsap, Horford and Carroll combined for 58 points and 30 rebounds. The Wizards' frontcourt of Nene and Gortat combined for just 11 points and 19 rebounds.
2. The Hawks didn’t want to play Game 7
As mentioned above, the Hawks grabbed 42.9 percent of their missed shots in the first half. Throughout this series, their offense struggled to find the groove it had during it's midseason stretch of invincibility, but you can't fault them for not trying. They looked like the team facing elimination, attacking the offensive glass and outrunning the Wizards in transition. They faltered down the stretch, but still managed to hang on for the win even with Kyle Korver having a terrible night -- he had two points and was 0-of-7 from deep.
3. John Wall couldn’t make up for a dismal showing from Paul Pierce
Pierce was never the same after hitting that three-point shot and calling “series” in Game 5. He had no points in the first half and just four in the second and was a reliability on the defensive end of the court. Wall, on the other hand, looked great in his second game back with a broken wrist. His play in the first half kept the Wizards in it -- he had 11 points and five assists. And he did his best to keep the Wizards in it in the second half. He ended the night with 20 points and seven assists -- plus some great defensive plays -- but his toughness and determination were most impressive.
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