Atlanta Hawks Fall to John Wall, Wizards in Game One
The Atlanta Hawks dropped Game One to the Washington Wizards on Sunday afternoon in the nation’s capital.
John Wall was just too much for the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
Wall delivered a dominant 32-point, 14-assist masterclass to lead the Wizards to an 114-107 win over the Hawks to take a 1-0 series lead. The Hawks performed fairly well in the first half but the Wizards kicked it into another gear in the second half to take home a win.
The difference in this game turned out to be the play in the third quarter.
Atlanta took a 48-45 lead into the locker room before the Wizards game out hot in the third. Washinton put up 38 points in the third quarter to give the Wizards a seven-point lead that they never surrendered.
Wall was absolutely brilliant in the third, and the entire game. He was racing up and down the court like a one-man fast break, dishing assists left and right, and keeping the Hawks’ defense on its heels. His constant pressure broke the Hawks and with Wall playing at that level, the Wizards will not lose to the Hawks.
Dennis Schroder did make the point guard battle a fun one, though. Schroder led the Hawks with 25 points, on 8-of-16 shooting, and had nine assists to just two turnovers. But despite his efforts, the entire Hawks starting lineup was outplayed.
Bradley Beal scored 22 points, outplaying Atlanta’s wing scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. by a very wide margin. Hardaway finished with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting and just never got going. Marcin Gortat had a physical battle with Dwight Howard inside. But Gortat (14 points, 10 boards) was more effective and efficient than Howard (seven points, 14 rebounds).
But the most surprising thing about this game was Markieff Morris outplaying Paul Millsap.
This was a matchup that seemed to favor Millsap on paper, but Morris used his quickness and physicality to knock Millsap off of his game. Morris finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, and was spectacular on both ends of the floor. Millsap was solid with 19 points but had just two rebounds and four turnovers.
Wall’s dominance is one thing, but Millsap cannot but handled by Morris like he was in this game. Group those factors in with the Hawks losing the turnover battle 21-12 and registering just 18 assists to Washington’s 28, and you get a bad outing for the Hawks.
The bright spot for Atlanta came with the second unit.
The Hawks’ reserves outscored Washington’s bench 35-15. Kent Bazemore (12 points), Mike Muscala (8 points), and Ersan Ilyasova (9 points) all had great impacts. The bench unit represents the greatest advantage for the Hawks in this series and if they can just begin to contain Wall, the Hawks have a real shot.
Next: Atlanta Hawks Key to the Series: Transition Play
This game was not a great performance by the Hawks. But there are reasons to remain optimistic. The Wizards got an elite performance from Wall and one of the best they could hope for from Morris. If both guys go back to their normal levels, the Hawks are very much alive in this series.