Wizards Take 3-2 Series Lead with 103-99 Game 5 Win vs. Hawks Behind John Wall
The Washington Wizards bounced back from consecutive losses and captured a 103-99 Game 5 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at Verizon Center to take a 3-2 first-round series lead in their Eastern Conference matchup.
However, the win wasn't without tense moments.
Although the Wizards made a pair of second-half runs that put them in position to pull away and stretch their lead to double digits, the Hawks were able to respond time and again to make the home team sweat things out.
But as has been the case all season long, John Wall and Bradley Beal came up with timely buckets and dimes to move the Wizards within one win of the second round.
Beal led all Washington scorers with 27 points (11-of-22 shooting), while Wall flirted with a triple-double to the tune of 20 points, 14 assists and six rebounds. He also provided the night's most eye-popping highlight when he took off inside the paint and uncorked a fierce left-handed jam:
And after those two didn't have much help from supporting options in Games 3 and 4, they received it in spades from Otto Porter Jr., Bojan Bogdanovic and Brandon Jennings in Game 5:
| Otto Porter Jr. | 17 | 3/4 | 2/3 | 9/10 | 5 | 1 | +1 |
| Bojan Bogdanovic | 14 | 4/7 | 2/3 | 4/4 | 6 | 0 | +6 |
| Brandon Jennings | 2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | +3 |
Porter Jr.'s contributions were especially noteworthy considering he was able to convert his open three-point attempts and get to the line repeatedly in order to offer Wall and Beal some relief, as ESPN Stats & Info pointed out:
Jennings was also a big part of the Wizards' winning effort, and he energized the team when he broke out some vintage playground moves in the fourth quarter and sliced and diced his way through the Hawks defense before dishing to Bogdanovic for a big bucket:
The Hawks, it should be noted, weren't without balanced contributions of their own.
Dennis Schroder was in a special zone all night long, and he made the Wizards pay from mid-range and long-range repeatedly as he finished with a game-high 29 points (10-of-18 shooting, 5-of-6 from three) in a superlative showing that caught the eye of The Ringer's Bill Simmons and the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore:
Paul Millsap (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points) flanked Schroder with strong efforts of their own, but the Hawks simply didn't have answers for Wall and Beal with the game on the line.
As a result, the Hawks will head back to their home floor looking to replicate their Game 3 and Game 4 performances to force a decider back at Verizon Center.
Game 6 is scheduled to tip off from Philips Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.
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