Wizards Take Down Hawks 115-99 in Game 6, Advance to 2nd Round of Playoffs

The Washington Wizards are on to the second round of the NBA playoffs after finally figuring out how to win on the road.

Despite watching a 22-point second-half lead dwindle to just three in the fourth quarter, John Wall stepped up once again to lead Washington to a 115-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Friday's win clinched a 4-2 final in the first-round series and they will take on the Boston Celtics in Round 2.

Although home teams had won each of the previous five games of the Eastern Conference battle, the Wizards solved the issue in Game 6 for the clinching win. Considering the squad had a losing record away from home during the regular season, the latest win could be key toward earning more postseason success.

The team's elite backcourt also remains key, especially if it can produce the way it did in this series.

Wall led the way with 42 points, eight assists and four steals on 16-of-25 shooting. He came through with fun highlights in the first quarter:

And he had clutch plays in the fourth:

The All-Star scored 19 points in the final quarter, more than the 17 the Hawks scored as a team.

Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press summed up the reaction:

Meanwhile, Bradley Beal came through as well with 31 points and a plus/minus of plus-32 from the field. Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated discussed Beal's play:

"

Beal is the most underrated player in the NBA

— Andrew Sharp (@andrewsharp) April 29, 2017"

Markieff Morris (17 points) and Bojan Bogdanovic (10 points) were the only other Wizards players in double figures.

Paul Millsap did his best to keep the Hawks competitive with his best all-around game of the series. The forward finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. 

Dennis Schroder added 26 points and 10 assists, although 22 team turnovers and 28.1 percent three-point shooting doomed Atlanta at home in Game 6.

Washington was simply dominant in the first half to quiet the crowd and take control of the game.

The team built up a 65-46 lead thanks to 65.8 percent shooting, including some quality performances from its best players:

The visitors forced 15 turnovers before intermission and closed the first half on a 19-4 run to seemingly put their opponent away.

However, the Hawks stormed back with a 36-point third quarter to cut the lead to seven going into the fourth. The crowd was certainly feeling this big dunk by Schroder:

Unfortunately, Atlanta was never able to tie the game and eventually fell apart in the final moments as Wall took over.

The Wizards will now advance to the second round to take on the Celtics in what could be an entertaining series.

If Wall and Beal continue to score at their current level, this could only be the start of an exciting postseason. While the opening series was far from perfect, Washington showed it is a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference when playing at its best.