Wall, Beal pace Wizards past Hawks

That the Hawks couldn’t in the opener of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series is why Washington has a 1-0 lead.

And now the Warriors own a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as it shifts to Portland for Saturday’s Game 3, just as Kerr’s group did going ahead on the Blazers in last year’s Western Conference semifinal won in five games.

WASHINGTON – After John Wall told Markieff Morris what to expect in his National Basketball Association playoff debut, the Washington Wizards’ All-Star guard showed everyone his postseason best. Jennings gave the Wizards a big boost in the fourth, while Beal scored 16 in the quarter and Wall scored eight. Wizards backup forward Ian Mahinmi injured his calf during the final game of the regular season and could miss the remainder of the series.

The Washington Wizards went on a 17-4 run late in the fourth quarter to earn a 109-101 Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to take a 2-0 lead with the series shifting to Atlanta for Game 3. Wall was a blur at times, scoring 15 points in a third quarter that proved to be the knockout punch for Washington in Game 1. Wizards coach Scott Brooks said, in response to a reporter qualifying his question about Wall’s performance. “He’s a competitive, active guy who’s got a lot of confidence”. The rookie’s 3-pointer pulled Atlanta within 108-103 with 2:07 left, but Washington countered with four free throws in a row including Wall’s pair with 1:13 remaining. Conscious that he couldn’t do it all himself, Wall embraced the role as defensive stopper and facilitator on Sunday.

That offensive versatility is particularly key in the playoffs, where teams go out of their way to take away your bread and butter. “He plays with toughness”, Brooks said.

Dennis Schroeder and Paul Milsap led Atlanta with 25 points and 19 points, respectively.

The Atlanta Hawks bench played well in Game 1, but I think they left starting five on the plane a little too long.

The Atlanta Hawks are much better at home than they are on the road and this is a must-win game for them or this series is pretty much over. “Usually the aggressor is rewarded”. However, it didn’t look like the Hawks were motivated enough in this one, and they now face a major uphill battle if they hope to advance.

Harden finished with 35 points and eight assists and was a flawless 18 for 18 from the free-throw line.

Smith didn’t play in the second half of Game 2 because Cleveland’s medical staff decided it was better for him to rest than risk making his injury worse. He scored 32 points, 14 assists, and 4 rebounds.

“I won’t be finishing first”, Wall said. I always tell him at certain times, you just got to be aggressive and look for your shot.

Taurean Prince had 14 points in his playoff debut for the Hawks. Not one bit. Instead, he relied on a silly play on words that he says his agent taught him. The Washington Wizards are averaging 111.5 points on 45.2 percent shooting and allowing 104 points on 42 percent shooting. He also was mostly positive about Tim Hardaway Jr.’s contributions despite a rough 2-for-11 shooting night.