Balanced Hawks hold off Wizards 111-101, even series 2-all

The series returns to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Dennis Schroder responded with 29 points and had 11 assists, but Hardaway was awful.

In Game 5, Coach Scott Brooks made two huge adjustments. The Wizards would likely dress Chris McCullough and he and rookie Daniel Ochefu would be two more big bodies, but neither has played significant minutes all season and tossing them into a Game 6 on the road in Atlanta would be quite a challenge. “Maybe spread ’em out, go a little bit smaller, get Paul [Millsap] in some space and let him attack and try and get to the free throw line”.

However, this has been the epitome of a back-and-forth series, and Washington hasn’t been anywhere close to the dominant force that many projected. There is no team in the Eastern Conference that can consistently win in the Verizon Center as the visitor. Calderon wasn’t supposed to be with the Hawks. The Grizz will need a full boat from Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and company if they’re going to get by Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Patty Mills tonight. Calderon then signed with Atlanta and has been a valuable backup and occasional tutor for the mercurial Schroder.

Here we are decades later, and Atlanta and Washington are again locked in a National Basketball Association playoff series.

These first round series could be closed out on Friday, with the Wizards, Celtics and Jazz all going for knockout blows.

The Hawks, who won games three and four at home by an average margin of 14 points, host game six on Sunday.

Those are All-Star type numbers and that includes a Game 4 “dud” of 18 points 3 assists and 3 rebounds (all hail Jose Calderon).

Wizards: Otto Porter Jr. was able to play after leaving Game 3 with a strained neck. Gerald Green made his third start, but he played less than 13 minutes and finished with two points after scoring 18 with seven rebounds in Game 4. “Paul is very competitive, but he’s very focused”, Budenholzer said. Milwaukee has lost back-to-back games after routing Toronto 104-77 in Game 3. Every Ryan Cameron “GOTTEEEEEEM” gave him and the crowd confidence. “That was my goal this game, and I feel like I did it”, Bradley said.

With Beal finally knocking down some jumpers, Washington shot almost 58 percent in the opening period and built a 35-28 lead.

Bradley Beal scored 32 points, bouncing back from a dismal performance in Game 3, and John Wall had another stellar performance with 22 points and 10 assists. Markieff Morris scored just eight points as he couldn’t avoid foul trouble while Marcin Gortat scored just five points as he struggled against the Hawks’ Dwight Howard. The veteran backup point guard answered the call when Dennis Schroder went out in the 3:19 left in the first quarter with his third foul. The Wizards trailed by five points early but went on an 11-0 run and outscored the Hawks 18-4 to lead by as many as nine points.

San Antonio shot 14 for 28 on 3-point attempts, two off its postseason record, including 5-for-7 shooting by Patty Mills. Atlanta later got back-to-back alley-oop dunks by Howard, who had a double-double by halftime.

“He said no can guard me I’ve got 40 points, I’m like, that’s nice but you took 34 shots to get it”. “When he’s like that, it can help carry his teammates and help us take that next step forward”. “Bron today just said he feels worse when he doesn’t play”.