After nothing separated the two teams four games into the seven-game series, it was no secret that Game 5 between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards was going to be a hard-fought one. That’s exactly what we got and in the end, it was the Wizards who were able to come out on top at home 103-99 despite having dropped the last two in Atlanta. As usual, it was the terrific efforts of dynamic backcourt duo John Wall and Bradley Beal that put Washington back into the driver’s seat of this first-round series.
The game started off tight and competitive and remained that way throughout. For Atlanta, it was guard Dennis Schroder who had a big first quarter, specifically from the perimeter where he went 3/3 from 3-point range in the period. The Hawks also seemed to make a point of getting off-guard Tim Hardaway involved early and often, who finished the game with 15 points on 18 shot attempts.
For Washington, it was Wall setting the table for his teammates that kept them in the game as the all-star guard failed to score in the first but dished out 5 assists.
The second quarter was when the Wizards began to see their reserves make a difference as Bojan Bogdanovic came in and provided a much-needed scoring boost off the bench, finishing with 14 points in 24 minutes. The subpar play of Washington’s bench has been an underlying theme all series and was a major factor in their two ugly losses in games 3 and 4. Early on in the second, the Wizards were able to build a lead thanks to some disruptive defense which led to an 11-2 run capped off by this sweet alley-oop from Wall to Markieff Morris:
John Wall lobs it ? to Markieff Morris for the alley-oop slam!#dcfamily pic.twitter.com/D6qsBtrznd
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 26, 2017
Despite the Wizards creating some separation, Atlanta weathered the storm and were able to hang in there. Schroder kept up his scorching hot start from outside and Paul Millsap began to assert himself in the lane which allowed them to cut the deficit to just one heading into the halftime break. Despite the one-point edge for the Wiz, the home team looked uninspired for a lot of the first half allowing Atlanta to keep pace.
The second half saw the Wizards threaten to blow the game wide open again, as forward Otto Porter knocked down back to back triples to kick off the third quarter after a quiet first half. Washington was able to stretch their lead out, eventually having it swell to as much as 11.
This lead was earned despite the ongoing foul trouble of Markieff Morris and the offensive struggles of Marcin Gortat. The weak frontcourt play the Wizards have got isn’t going to bode well if they plan on making a deep playoff run. Any rhythm Morris builds up has been getting wiped away by foul calls and Gortat has been rendered ineffective on the offensive end thanks in large part to his ex-teammate Dwight Howard.
Even with Washington opening up a double-digit lead, this resilient Hawks team countered with an 11-0 run, bringing themselves right back into it. The resiliency of this Atlanta team can’t be overstated as it seems everytime Washington is ready to pull away, they come right back and make things interesting again. Towards the conclusion of the high-scoring third quarter, Wall was able to snatch the momentum back for Washington with a vicious lefty tomahawk:
John Wall drives in and slams one down hard right by the #Hawks defense!
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(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/cz3K4nmyzI— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 26, 2017
Neither team was able to create much separation in the final period. Schroder and Millsap continued to keep Atlanta in the game offensively and another role player in the form of Brandon Jennings brought a spark for the Wizards to start off the fourth quarter.
Brandon Jennings mixes up Calderon quick, drops a dime to Bogdanovic for the reverse!#DCFamily
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/VDPtYqOhZj— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 27, 2017
Washington was able to lock down defensively down the stretch and that’s what ultimately made the difference in this game. The star power of Wall and Beal were able to carry them through the finish line and secure the huge Game 5 victory for the Wizards.
Wall finished with 20 points and a whopping 14 assists while Beal poured in 27 and Porter threw in a quiet 17 of his own. For Atlanta, there weren’t any noteworthy performances besides those of Schroder and Millsap who both finished with 29 and 21 respectively. Schroder also spread the ball around for 11 assists while Millsap grabbed 11 rebounds.
Heading back to Atlanta for a must-win situation, the Hawks will fight to keep their season alive in Game 6 on Friday at 7:30 PM while the Wizards look to punch their ticket to the second round.
