Game 5 of this exciting first-round series between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks was scheduled for Wednesday night. They met in Washington in front of a sellout crowd of 20,000 fans at Verizon Center. Coming into Wednesday's matchup, the Wizards had won five straight home games against the Hawks.
With series being tied at 2-2 they wanted to extend that streak to six straight home wins over Atlanta and take a comfortable 3-2 series lead. Former Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, was in the Arena. He received the loudest ovation of the first half as video board showed him sitting courtside.
Washington has played without backup center Ian Mahinmi (strained left calf) all series.
John Wall to the rescue
It was a close game from the opening tip. Midway through the first quarter, the score was tied at 13-13 before Atlanta went on an 8-2 run to take a 21-15 lead. After the first 12 minutes of the game, the Hawks held a 25-23 lead. Teams continued to trade baskets in the second quarter as neither squad was able to pull away. With six minutes left in the second quarter, the score was tied at 36-36.
Washington would regain the lead back before the halftime buzzer, and they led 50-49 at halftime. The Wizards had the lead most of the third quarter, but Atlanta would rally back and tie it at 69-69 midway through the third period.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Wizards held an 83-79 lead.
The fourth quarter was in a "back-and-forth" mode until the end. With Washington leading 101-96 Dennis Schroder made a three-pointer to pull Atlanta within 101-99 with 70 seconds left. John Wall answered with a midrange pull-up jumper, and that sealed the deal.
Washington won it 103-99.
The Hawks only made four of their 13 shots in the paint in the fourth quarter, and they shot 40.9% for the game. Washington finished with 21 assists and just seven turnovers in the game. It was Washington's 18th win in 20 games this season when holding an opponent to under 100 points.
Bojan Bogdanovic with 14 points off the bench
After scoring 13 points in Game 4, Bojan Bogdanovic had another great game off the bench for Washington. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds in Game 5 and was efficient shooting the ball (4-7). Bradley Beal led the Wizards in scoring on Wednesday with 27 points while John Wall added 20 points and 14 assists. Wall accounted for 31 points on his 14 assists in Game 5.
Dennis Schroder led the way for Atlanta with 29 points and 11 assists. Schroder made a career-high-tying five three-pointers. He became the first Hawk since "Pistol" Pete Maravich in 1973 to record at least 25 points and ten assists in a playoff game. Paul Millsap contributed with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
Washington now leads the series 3-2 with Game 6 to be played on Friday night in Atlanta.
