The Hawks got back on track after falling into a 2-1 hole in the series against the Wizards with a big win on the road this past Monday.
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The Atlanta Hawks (2-2) host the Washington Wizards (2-2) in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with both teams hoping to take the 3-2 edge into Game 6.
Despite a close final score of 106-101 in Game 5, the Hawks dominated the first three quarters of that game and didn’t give the Hawks any breathing room until after they had secured their lead by a wide margin. F Paul Millsap, C Al Horford and G Jeff Teague all had 18 points or more and created an overwhelming mismatch for the Wizards in the win. Though G Kyle Korver reverted to his “invisible man” routine, putting up just six points in over 35 minutes on the court, bench player Dennis Schroder more than made up for it with 14 points and 8 assists in a 29 solid minutes.
After making due without All-Star John Wall for Games 2 and 3, his absence from the Wizards was deafening in Game 4 as the team struggled to keep pace with the Hawks and failed to look at all like the team that swept the Raptors. A great performance by G Bradley Beal was not enough to compensate for a weak performance by C Marcin Gortat or by fellow G Ramon Sessions, who missed 9 FGs on the day in 33 minutes on the court.
With Wall’s status still uncertain, the entire game may hinge on whether the he does play.
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks win Game 5 – No more predictions that Korver will return to form, but the trio of Horford, Millsap and Teague should be enough to give the Hawks the win against a Wall-less Wizards team.
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