Wizards vs. Hawks: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

The Washington Wizards playoff train kept rolling Sunday in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Wizards swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round and pushed their postseason winning streak to five with an impressive 104-98 victory in Atlanta. Washington outscored the Hawks by 16 in the second half and seized control of the series behind Bradley Beal's 28 points and John Wall's 18 points and 13 assists.

ESPN Stats & Info put Atlanta's uncharacteristic second-half struggles into statistical context:

It is nearly impossible to win a game in the postseason with shooting numbers like that, especially when the opponent's backcourt consists of Wall and Beal. All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures, but the team shot 37.8 percent from the field as a whole.

Despite the second-half shooting woes, the Hawks looked the part of a No. 1 seed early Sunday. They controlled the first half and went to the locker room with a 63-53 lead, largely because they drilled nine three-pointers.

The most notable moment in the first 24 minutes came when Wall hurt his left wrist and had to leave the game. He returned, but Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk pointed out the wrist clearly bothered him moving forward:

The Wizards cut Atlanta's lead to four early in the third quarter, but the Hawks once again flexed their muscles and extended their advantage to double digits. Rashad Mobley of ESPN True Hoop noted that the Wizards struggled to maintain extended success:

Atlanta took advantage of some openings in the Washington defense with impressive ball movement. NBA analyst Nate Duncan and Mike Prada of SB Nation pointed out some of the concerns from the Wizards' standpoint: 

Right on cue, the Wizards tightened up the defense and came roaring back. They trimmed Atlanta's lead to 83-81 at the end of the third quarter, thanks largely to better defense and the offensive efforts of Beal, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post noted:

The Wizards took their first lead since early in the first quarter moments later when Beal hit an outside jumper. A big reason for Washington's run was the absence of Al Horford, as Duncan pointed out:

Even with the momentum that came with the 87-83 lead, the Wizards received a scare in the middle of the fourth quarter. Beal sprained his ankle when he landed on Horford's foot on a jumper, and he limped off to the locker room. Mobley noted what that meant for the Wizards moving into the stretch run:

Fortunately for the Wizards, Beal returned with four minutes remaining when Washington held a 95-91 lead. Part of the reason Washington maintained the lead without Beal was a renewed effort on defense.

Beal actually suggested the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors helped prepare the Wizards for the Hawks on that end of the floor, per J. Michael of CSNWashington.com:

"

Their ability to space the floor just like Toronto. You have Mike Scott and Antic and (Paul) Millsap who are all like Pat Patterson. You got one three-point shooter leaving the game, you got another coming in. It's to our benefit a little bit because we've just played a team just like that. Atlanta probably moves the ball a little  bit more. Overall on both ends of the floor it's pretty much the same team.

"

Despite the Wizards' defensive efforts, the Hawks went on a spurt of their own in the final minutes to trim Washington's lead to 98-96 with a minute and 21 seconds remaining. The Hawks pounded the Wizards on the offensive boards during the stretch, as Duncan noted:

The most important play of the game came on the ensuing possession when Wall sliced through the defense and found Otto Porter for an easy layup right before the shot clock expired to open up a four-point lead. Prada praised Wall for his timely passing:

The game was essentially over when Atlanta failed to answer, and Washington stole Game 1 on the road, 104-98.

What's Next?

Game 2 is Tuesday in Atlanta.

While it technically isn't a must-win for the Hawks in a best-of-seven-game series, they really need to come away with a victory at home. Atlanta lost two of the three road games to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, and the Wizards are a stronger opponent.

It is difficult to envision a scenario where Atlanta loses the first two games of the series on its home floor and then bounces back to win the series with three of the final five games in Washington.

As for the Wizards, they grabbed one in Atlanta, which is usually a road team's goal in the first two games of a series, but they will certainly be greedy Tuesday. Two victories on the road would be a dominant way to start the second round.