ATLANTA - Washington Wizards point guard John Wall ended his night early, walking off the court with the clock stopped in the final quarter. He deserved the proper send-off for a road villain - hard handshakes from teammates and scattered boos from a salty crowd - after ending the postseason for the Atlanta Hawks.
Wall scored 19 of his game-high 42 points in the fourth quarter as the Wizards eliminated Atlanta, 115-99, in Game 6 of the first-round playoff series. Wall’s total was the third-highest in franchise history, and he singlehandedly outscored the Hawks (17 fourth-quarter points) over the final 12 minutes.
The Wizards advance to meet the top-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series will be at 1 p.m. Sunday in Boston.
The Wizards went ahead 68-46 early in the second half, but that lead turned to rubble. The Hawks worked back into the game, the Philips Arena crowd chanting and screaming throughout the final 12 minutes. But each time the Wizards felt this desperation, they responded with their own road resolve.
As impressive as Wall was on the offensive end, his defense was pivotal with Atlanta charging, trimming its deficit to three with a fast break to pull within one midway through the fourth quarter. That’s when Wall chased down Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder, erasing his fast-break layup, then scoring on one of his own, pushing the lead back to 95-90.
Later, the Hawks again pulled within a game-tying field goal, but on the next possession Wall found Bradley Beal cutting around a screen and his 16-foot jump shot was pure, as it was much of the night. Beal made 11 of 17 from the floor for 31 points, his third 30-plus game of the playoffs.
Ahead of the team’s first postseason closeout game, Coach Scott Brooks recalled his own experiences. Brooks, who coached the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, preached the value of effort and execution above everything else.
“You don’t have to play [perfect] basketball,” Brooks said before Friday’s game, “but you have to play a lot of grit, a lot of toughness as many times down the court.
“My experience tells me the team that plays the hardest and executes and gets some breaks to go their way,” said Brooks, who recalled how even lucky shots off the backboard can determine the night, “sometimes those are the game-winning plays.”
From the first quarter, the Wizards dominated these plays.
In the opening minutes, Wall didn’t have to chase down an errant outlet pass by the Hawks, but his hustle and save led to Beal’s 3-pointer in transition - through the first half, the Wizards controlled the fast-break advantage, 24-4.
Also, Jason Smith showed the necessary grit and toughness by even showing up on the active list. On Friday morning, Smith’s left calf strain was considered so serious that Brooks felt he might have to keep his backup center on the sidelines. However when starter Marcin Gortat picked up two fouls in the opening four and a half minutes, Smith got up from his seat and unfastened his warmups.
The grit was tested again in the closing seconds of the quarter when Beal stood up for himself and the Wizards showed that they would back down from this fight. After a steal by Kelly Oubre Jr. (he was a defensive gem collecting five takeaways), Beal raced in for a breakaway dunk but as he landed, Kent Bazemore subtly pushed his side and the contact sent Beal sliding into baseline-seated fans. Beal popped up, his ire directed at official Bill Spooner, and he bumped into Bazemore’s chest as several teammates rushed in and showed their displeasure.
There was only a shove here and there - and a very angry Smith gesturing toward Bazemore - but the anger abated.
However, when examining this series, beyond the talk of “double MMA” and a few GIFs of Wall dunking over or staring down Schroder, this playoff round had lacked sizzle, overshadowed by fouls and missed jump shots.
Markieff Morris, averaging four fouls per game, had spent too much time on a sideline seat after reaching, hacking and fouling his matchup, Paul Millsap. And through five games, the Wizards as a team had struggled to find offensive rhythm and shot 43.9 percent from the floor. By Friday night, however, Morris played the first half without committing a foul and subsequently, had his best night since Game 1.
Morris started the game with a turnaround baseline jumper, then air balled his next attempt. But after the gaffe, Morris transformed into a floor-spacing forward by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter and finishing with 17 points. Through 40 minutes, Morris collected just two fouls.
Once Morris figured out how to remain on the court - his presence allowed the Wizards to keep its best unit in tact - the glossy veneer returned to Washington’s offense.
The Wizards found the same shots, and more, they couldn’t make through the previous games. Friday night, the shots fell - the Wizards made 22 of their first 33 attempts and scored a searing 65 first-half points.
The offense once again looked inspiring, and late in the half Brooks was so fired up after watching Beal work over Tim Hardaway Jr. and cap the possession with a 23-foot jumper, that Brooks slapped his shooting guard on his rear as the ran back on defense.
By halftime, the Wizards’ defense also deserved a hand - the team forced 11 steals, the most since the Philadelphia 76ers collected 14 during the first half of a playoff game on May 13, 1999. Even so, this defensive effort could not last. In the third quarter, the Hawks cut into the 22-point deficit and scored 36 points. Then three minutes into the final frame, a defensive scramble allowed Hawks guard Jose Calderon to shoot an open corner 3, pulling Atlanta to within three at 93-90.
The Hawks had asked one final question. Wall and the Wizards had the answer.
