Wizards seal OT win as series heads to Washington.
The NBA playoffs continued on Tuesday night as the Washington Wizards left the Chicago Bulls in all kinds of trouble while the Indiana Pacers levelled their series against the Atlanta Hawks.
Similarly to their first encounter, the Wizards were able to come on strong down the stretch in regulation, and while the game went into overtime, they had enough to pick up two wins from the first two road games.
Bradley Beal finished with 26 points while Nene had 17, but the former stressed the importance of his team treating Game 3 as though they are down in the series in order to guard against complacency.
D.J. Augustin led the hosts with 25 points while Taj Gibson had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Joakim Noah added 20 points and 12 boards, but ultimately it wasn’t enough again for the Bulls who are now in real danger of slipping out in the first round.
Washington’s match-ups caused issues at both ends of the court, and without that scoring spark from a go-to player, it appears as though it is going to cost Chicago in the post-season despite their heroics all year long.
Game 3 is on Friday, and ultimately it will now be make or break for the Bulls who must find a way to get back into this series.
Meanwhile, that is exactly what both the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors did on Tuesday, with both teams levelling their series against the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets respectively.
Paul George had 27 points and 10 rebounds to help rout the Hawks and bounce back, and the performance could well be the spark required for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they look to regain their confidence on the court.
Pacers star David West insisted that his team must now build on what they have started in this game, and it starts with Game 3 in Atlanta on Thursday.
As for the Raptors, DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points to drop the Nets and even up the series, as he dismissed the notion of having playoff nerves after his below-par performance in Game 1.
Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 14 rebounds, but Nets point guard Deron Williams conceded that his team knew that DeRozan would be the one to bounce back and take over the game.
Amir Johnson and Kyle Lowry also played key roles in the win, and the Raptors will now look to conquer the Barclays Center on Friday in order to take a series lead.
NBA Results:
Atlanta Hawks 85-101 Indiana Pacers
Brooklyn Nets 95-100 Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards 101-99 Chicago Bulls
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