The Washington Wizards won a close one over the Atlanta Hawks to take Game 1 of the second round playoff match. The final score was 104 to 98 with the Hawks leading for most of the game until the end.
For the Wizards, Bradley Beal was the leader in scoring, shooting 9-22 for 28 points. John Wall went 8-19 for 18 points and 13 assists.
The Hawks looked like they were ready to win the game, taking a 63-53 lead into the half. However poor shooting kept the Hawks from winning the game. The Hawks shot only 13-52 in the second half, missing multiple wide-open shots.
One possession at the end of the game, the Hawks had 5 chances to make a basket and missed on all 3.
DeMarre Carroll led the Hawks in scoring with 24 points but scored 21 of those in the first half.
The other Hawks starters shooting percentages were very bad and played a huge role in the loss.
Jeff Teague was 4-14 for 11 points, Kyle Korver was 5-15 for 13 points, Paul Millsap was 6-17 for 15 points and Al Horford shot 7-19 for 17 points.
Horford gave the Hawks a huge boost with 17 rebounds but the Hawks still did not win the rebounding battle, with the Wizards having a slight 54-52 advantage on the boards.
During the game, Wizards Bradley Beal and John Wall both sustained injuries however an update was not available post game.
“We missed a lot of open shots. Defensively we played well. Realistically we can’t score 30 points in the second half and win” – Carroll
— Sammy Social-Hawks (@Sammy_Socialite) May 3, 2015
“The second half we settled for jumpers. We had some good looks. We will get more open looks if we drive and attack the rim more.” – Bud
— Sammy Social-Hawks (@Sammy_Socialite) May 3, 2015
“I thought our bench was big for us” – Wizards head coach
— Sammy Social-Hawks (@Sammy_Socialite) May 3, 2015