WASHINGTON -- How's this for a test of the Atlanta Hawks' steadfast belief in their own process? A banked buzzer beater that erased a 20-point comeback. A wide-open game-tying attempt the next game from the same player that's crushed the hopes of countless opponents in his Hall of Fame career. A missed layup and a wall of three Wizards blocking Al Horford's desperate attempt for an offensive rebound and one last game-winning shot attempt.
Tried and tested, the Hawks still stand
The Hawks’ resolve outlasted every attack by the Wizards. Now Atlanta moves forward.
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
All that was before what transpired at the Verizon Center in Friday night's Game 6. To win that game and this series, the Hawks had to survive a comeback energized by two young Wizards who took turns glued to Randy Wittman's bench during the season, countless potential daggers from top marksman Kyle Korver that spun out and a mind-boggling collapse from when they had the ball up four with less than 20 seconds left.
And then there was this.
Another Paul Pierce dagger on a play they perfectly defended. Another chance to advance further than any Atlanta Hawks team ever, thwarted.
Then, finally, salvation in the form of a replay showing the shot was a fraction of a second late.
"The basketball gods were on our side," DeMarre Carroll said. "They let us get through this one."
If so, they sure pulled the prank of a lifetime. They gave the Hawks a foe that challenged their resolve and tested the team’s ability to actually stay true to itself. It says a lot that the Hawks overcame that test.
Because this test was hard. Washington smothered Korver all series, sealed off Jeff Teague's drives with 500-plus pounds of interior beef and forced the Hawks to switch their defensive coverages multiple times to account for John Wall and Bradley Beal's dribble penetration. The Wizards pushed and prodded, both with their bodies and, in Pierce's case specifically, their mouths.
Yet the Hawks stood firm by, well, standing firm in their process. They kept running their offense even as the Wizards made it difficult, trusting that openings would eventually come and missed shots would eventually go down. They finally did in the final minute, just in the nick of time. Twice, the Hawks ran a pick and roll. Twice, the Wizards trapped. Twice, Carroll took advantage of his man trying to rotate by cutting backdoor for layups.
"We're not intent on being a physical team," Paul Millsap said afterwards when asked about the challenge the Wizards posed. "We're physical enough, but we won games this year outscoring teams, out-executing teams. So when they tried to put pressure, we just tried to get smarter. It wasn't about us coming in and pushing back or anything like that. It was just about being smarter with how we were attacking the basket. We used our intelligence to use their pressure against them."
Not that it was easy. The Wizards' defense, well-drilled all season by the much-maligned Randy Wittman, consistently took those tertiary options away. The Hawks couldn't leverage the threat of Korver like they did in the regular season, thanks in large part to Beal's dogged pursuit and disciplined rotations behind them. Both Teague and Dennis Schroder struggled to capitalize on the open shots and lanes the Wizards happily gave them, though each had their moments.
It was left to the big men to step forward. They did. Millsap posted a double-double, punishing Pierce on the block in ways he hadn't all series. Horford followed up his game-saving rebound on Wednesday with a superlative all-around effort of his own, hitting six of his nine shots and stoning Washington's guards at the rim. The Wizards got inspired play from Kevin Seraphin, but it wasn't enough to deal with Atlanta's frontcourt skill.
In the process, Atlanta set in motion Washington’s own test of faith. The Wizards captivated the viewing audience all playoffs, but ended in the same spot as they did last year with a Game 6 defeat at home in the second round. Wall’s wrist injury at least gives them an explanation for their defeat, but nobody wanted to hear that on this night. They’re left to wallow over missed opportunities and some sort of curse dooming the sports teams in their city to heartbreaking defeats.
They’re also left to wonder about Pierce’s future. The Wizards believe he’ll pick up his player option and return next year, but he took this loss especially hard. He was still slumping by his locker in full uniform 45 minutes after the buzzer sounded. When he finally changed and spoke to reporters, he had tears welled in his eyes.
“I don’t have too much more of these efforts left, if any,” he said. “These rides, throughout the season and in the playoffs, are very emotional. They take a lot out of your body, out of your mind, your spirit. They’re very emotional.”
“People think it’s just you play basketball, go home and your body’s sore. No. Mentally, there’s the people around you that it affects,” he said later. “I know I’ll go home and not have any words for my wife and my mom. Probably the only thing that can get through to me right now is my kids. They give me joy.”
Pierce will feel better another day, but he spoke like someone that believed his best chance for further postseason glory just passed.
The Hawks, meanwhile, can take pride knowing their process survived such a great test. It hasn’t been pretty, and to some, it’s even been underwhelming considering they’re a 60-win team that was on top of the conference for months. Yet those people don’t understand that the whole point of sticking to the process is to have a backbone when the team’s spine is challenged. The Hawks believe they aren’t all the way there yet, but this series showed that all those references to a “process” really do mean something.
“This is where true growth happens,” Korver said. “You try to develop habits during the regular season so you can do things in the postseason. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the right track.”
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