The Washington Wizards will head to Atlanta with momentum on their side after edging past the Hawks, 103-99, in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series on Wednesday night. Four players scored in double-figures for the Wizards who moved to within a victory of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Leading the way for the Wizards in this Game 5 win was John Wall. He scored 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. It was a brilliant all-around performance by Wall who also recorded 14 assists and six rebounds. Also stepping up big time for the Wizards was Bradley Beal. He bounced back strongly from his poor showing in Game 4, scoring a team-high 27 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
What proved to be the difference in this win, however, was Washington’s excellent defense. The Wizards limited the Hawks to a measly 40.9 percent shooting clip in Game 5. In fact, they held Atlanta scoreless in the final 70 seconds of Game 5. They will need to replicate that feat in Game 6 for them to end the series once and for all. The Wizards held the Hawks to an average of 102.3 points in their three wins in this series. In the two games that Atlanta won, the Hawks averaged 113.5 points. If Washington holds Atlanta to below 100 points again this coming Friday, this series is all but over.
Homecourt advantage has definitely played a part in this Eastern Conference First Round showdown with the home team winning each and every one of the five playoff games played in this series thus far. The Hawks hope that will remain the case when they host the Wizards at Philips Arena in Game 6 Friday night.
The Hawks tried their hardest to steal homecourt in Game 5 but their execution down the stretch was spotty to say the least. Dennis Schroder was a one-man wrecking crew for Atlanta, scoring 29 points and dishing out 11 assists on Wednesday. He is the first Hawks player with at least 25 points and 10 assists in a playoff game since Pete Maravich recorded 34 points and 10 assists against Boston on April 4, 1973. Unfortunately for Atlanta, he didn’t get enough help in this pivotal contest.
Dwight Howard managed just five points in 28 minutes of action. Bench stalwarts Kent Bazemore and Ersan Ilyasova struggled mightily as well on Wednesday, combining for just eight points on a woeful 3-of-18 shooting from the field. The Hawks trio will hope that the friendly confines of Philips Arena will help ail their offensive woes. They combined for 38 points in the Game 4 win against Washington.
Howard, in particular, needs to set the tone in Game 6 and attack the Washington bigs right from the get-go. He scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first half of Game 4. That aggression was clearly missing from Howard in the Hawks’ Game 5 loss to the Wizards.
Writer’s Prediction
Washington barges into the Eastern Conference semis with a 105-97 win.
