It was a big Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. Playoffs are on the way, and the Atlanta Hawks hosted the Washington Wizards for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. After losing the first two games in Washington, Atlanta wanted to get back in this series in front of 19,000 fans in their Philips Arena. Washington dominated in first two matchups of this series led by superb performances from John Wall. Before Saturday's matchup, Washington had won five straight against Atlanta.
Wire to wire victory for the Hawks
Atlanta jumped out to a quick start in this game and looked much more confident than their opponent.
They opened up the game with a 22-6 run and took a big early lead. Atlanta made 15 of 23 shots in the first quarter and hit five 3-pointers. It was 38-20 for the home team after the first 12 minutes of the game.
John Wall scored 14 points for the Wizards in that period. The second quarter was pretty much the same as Atlanta kept their big lead at halftime. They held a 64-46 lead after the first two-quarters.
John Wall had 21 points for Washington at halftime. Atlanta kept the pace up and increased their lead in the third quarter. Going into the fourth quarter, it was 90-67 for Mike Budenholzer's team. Closest the Wizards would come 12 points in the final period (93-81), but then the Hawks made a 9-0 run and sealed the deal in this one.
The final score was
Closest the Wizards would come 12 points in the final period (93-81), but then the Hawks made a 9-0 run and sealed the deal in this one. The final score was 116-98 for the Atlanta team that outrebounded Washington 50-42. Atlanta finished with 26 team assists and forced the Wizards to commit 15 turnovers. Washington shot just 41.6% from the floor and 24.1% from the three-point line.
Millsap with a big performance
Paul Millsap led all scorers on Saturday night. He finished the game with 29 points and was efficient shooting the ball (12-20 from the field). Millsap also added 14 rebounds and five assists. Dennis Schroder was also a significant contributor in Game 3. He scored 27 points and dished out nine assists.
Atlanta's x-factor in this game was their rookie Taurean Prince. He was inserted into the starting lineup late in the year and it's paying off for the Hawks now. Prince scored 16 points in Saturday's win and grabbed for rebounds.
John Wall was the lone bright spot for Washington in this game. He scored 29 points on 10-12 shooting and had seven assists. Wall is averaging 31 points per game in the series. His backcourt partner Bradley Beal struggled to find a rhythm and scored just 12 points on 6-20 shooting. Beal missed all six of his three-point attempts.
Game 4 will be played on Monday night in Atlanta.
