Paul Pierce (Almost) Does it Again
15 May, 2015
Avoiding overtime in Game 6 when Paul Pierce’s potential tying 3-pointer was released after the clock expired, the Atlanta Hawks made it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time by beating the Washington Wizards 94-91 on Friday night.
The Hawks held on thanks primarily to DeMarre Carroll’s playoff career-high 25 points, including two layups in the last minute off assists from Jeff Teague.
After Al Horford went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line for a three-point lead, the Wizards inbounded the ball with 6.4 seconds left. They got the ball to Pierce, who won Game 3 on a banked-in buzzer-beater, then put Washington briefly ahead late in Game 5 with a 3. This time, his 3 from the corner swished through, but after a couple of anxious minutes for both teams, a replay review determined it was too late.
Once trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series against the Wizards, the Hawks won three straight games. They improved road teams to 6-0 this postseason in Game 6s.
Now No. 1 seed Atlanta will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the conference finals on Wednesday night.
It’s the Hawks’ first trip to a conference final since the NBA realigned into conferences in 1970-71. The team had not won two playoff series in a single year since moving to Atlanta for the 1968-69 season.
Teague and Paul Millsap both added 20 points for Atlanta, which won 60 games during the regular season but was about a .500 team for part of the postseason.
Playing with a broken left hand that forced him out of Games 2, 3 and 4, John Wall attacked the rim as if completely healthy and finished with 20 points, 13 assists and six rebounds.
Bradley Beal scored 29 points, including a baseline jumper to cap a 9-0 stretch and give Washington an 88-87 lead with a little more than 3 1/2 minutes left.
AP
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