The Atlanta Hawks tried to even their first-round playoff series with the Washington wizards on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, and company couldn't hold on to lead in the fourth, with the home team able to pull away and snatch a Game 2 victory away. Here's a look at how Bradley Beal, John Wall, and the Washington Wizards took the second game of their series in the 2017 NBA Playoffs on Wednesday evening.

Game 2 recap

Game 1 saw the Wizards hold off Atlanta to win by seven. In Wednesday night's second meeting between the Hawks and Wizards, Atlanta came out ready to play, but the home team was able to stay in range.

The Hawks took a 24-23 lead into the second quarter. Washington bounced back, though, outscoring the visitors 28-19 to lead at the half. However, it was ATL's third quarter in which they went on a 35-23 advantage that helped them gain momentum into the final quarter.

The fourth saw the lead change numerous times. Atlanta started the quarter up four, but Washington kept with them and eventually pulled even with 7:50 remaining thanks to a Jason Smith dunk. Not long after, Bradley Beal was able to hit an inside shot to help his team reclaim the lead finally. The two teams traded leads several times until about the 4:18 mark when Bradley Beal's layup gave the Wizards the lead. From there on out the team held off the visitors, ultimately winning 109-101 and getting a 2-0 series advantage.

Beal finished the game with 31 points on 12-for-27 shooting which including him hitting four of 10 three-point shots he took. Teammate John Wall led the team with 32 points and hit 12-of-15 free throws. He also had nine assists, five rebounds, a block, and a steal. Marcin Gortat had another double-double performance with 14 points and ten boards.

Washington outrebounded Atlanta just 43-41 and shot at the rate of 45 percent, but it was the turnovers that told the story. The Wizards finished with just 11 compared to 18 for their opponents.

For the losing side, Paul Millsap led the team with 27 points and ten rebounds while Dennis Schroder added 23 points and six assists.

Tim Hardaway Jr. also chipped in 19 points. Dwight Howard had a low production night, finishing with just six points and seven rebounds in only 20 minutes of game time.

The game was said to be full of foul calls by the referees which may have disrupted the game flow. However, when all was said and done, the Wizards still maintained that they might be a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference bracket.

Coming up next

The best-of-seven series for the Eastern Conference first round now moves to Atlanta. The Hawks will host the next two meetings. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT, while Game 4 will be on next Monday night. TNT will also show that meeting with the matchup scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
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