Atlanta Hawks Knock Off Wizards, Even Series At 2-2

The Atlanta Hawks faced off against the Washington Wizards in Game 4 of their first round playoff series on Monday night. Were they able to even the series at 2-2?

Well isn’t this interesting. The Atlanta Hawks have decided that they will not go quietly into the night. Their Game 4 victory over the Washington Wizards has tied their first round playoff series up at 2-2, and ensures that this series will at least go to six games.

I’ll admit it. I’m surprised. Going into this series, I thought the Wizards were a much better team than Atlanta. They still might be, but the Hawks have proven that they are capable of winning this series. Washington has woken up the beast that is Paul Millsap and are suffering for it.

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Atlanta started slowly in this game, which wasn’t the case in their Game 3 win. At the end of the first quarter Washington led 35-28. By halftime, Washington’s lead was erased. The Hawks outscored the Wizards by 16 points in the second quarter to take a nine point lead into the break.

The Wizards flipped the script in the third quarter. Things were all tied up heading into the fourth quarter. Atlanta’s dominant fourth quarter, led by Paul Millsap, helped them secure a 111-101 victory.

It was a balanced offensive effort from Atlanta, but Millsap led the way. Atlanta’s anchorman finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists on 6-for-15 shooting. He once again bothered the heck out of Markieff Morris. Morris finished with just nine points and four rebounds on 4-for-10 shooting.

Morris’ “crybaby” comments about Millsap after Game 3 seem to have added fuel to Millsap’s fire. He doesn’t need bulletin board material to get himself going, but Morris has provided some anyway. Don’t poke the bear.

Every member of Atlanta’s starting five scored in double figures. Dennis Schroder had 18 points after slow start. He knocked down some important jumpers in the fourth quarter when Washington’s guards ducked under screens. Schroder made them pay for that decision.

A Schroder three-pointer with 4:28 remaining gave the Hawks a double digit lead for the first time in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t quite a dagger, but it put Atlanta firmly in control of the game. After that shot, the Wizards would never trim their deficit to fewer than seven points for the remainder of the game.

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 15 points on 3-for-5 from three-point range. Taurean Prince continued his excellent play in the postseason. Prince finished with 11 points and seven rebounds on 5-for-7 shooting. Kent Bazemore played creator and scorer, ending the game with 16 points and seven assists.

Dwight Howard finally made his presence felt in this series. Howard had what was by far his best game of the series. He turned up his energy level significantly and it impacted his game in a positive way. Howard was a beast on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds to go along with his 16 points.

He had just one block, but he was much more active at the rim, bothering shots and forcing misses when Washington’s guards would penetrate. This is the Dwight Howard Hawks fans have been waiting to see in the playoffs. It wasn’t quite “Playoff Dwight”, but it was a great performance and exactly what the team needs from him for the rest of this series.

Atlanta got 20 important minutes from veteran point guard Jose Calderon, when Dennis Schroder was in foul trouble. Calderon was tremendous, scoring 10 points and tallying five assists. He was a team-high plus 29 in his 20 minutes of action.

The Hawks don’t win this game without Calderon’s contributions. The same could be said for Ersan Ilyasova, who provided 22 minutes of good defense, drawn charges, and a few buckets. Ilyasova had six points and five rebounds on 2-for-3 shooting.

Calderon spoke to the media after the game about his performance. Quotes from Chris Vivlamore’s game recap in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"“I feel comfortable with my teammates,” Calderon said. “As a point guard, it’s all about staying ready. We’ve been working hard for these kinds of fouls. I got three fouls quick too and coach kept me in the game. He could have picked somebody else. He trusted I could stay in with those three fouls. Whatever it takes.”"

Atlanta’s offense was streaky in this game, and there were often concerning lulls, but overall it was a good performance. They shot 44.4 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range.

Washington got good performances from John Wall and Bradley Beal. Wall had 22 points and ten assists. Beal had 32 points on 11-for-23 shooting. They did everything they could to win this game for the Wizards. It just wasn’t enough.

Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris combined to score just 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting. They each finished the game with five fouls. The physical nature of this series is starting to catch up with them.

Wizards coach Scott Brooks spoke about Morris’ struggles after the game. Quote from Candace Buckner’s game recap in the Washington Post.

"“Since that [first] game, he’s been in some foul trouble,” Coach Scott Brooks said. “The stats say he hasn’t shot the ball well, but he hasn’t had a rhythm. He’s been in foul trouble ever since that Game 1. But that’s part of it. You’ve got to play through it. He picked up two, and he picked up four real quick. And he got the fifth one. He’ll bounce back. I’ve got confidence in him, how he plays, how he plays for us. I expect him to have a better game in a couple of nights.”"

The series is now essentially a best two out of three to decide who makes it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Wizards still have homecourt advantage, which isn’t a small deal. Washington finished 30-11 at home during the regular season. They’re tough to beat at the Verizon Center.

At this point, nothing would surprise me with this series. The Hawks have been a Jekyll and Hyde team all season. It wouldn’t be a shock to see them win two games in a row to finish off this series. It wouldn’t be a shock to see them lose two games in a row to finish off this series.

Next: The Hawks Need Playoff Dwight

That’s the 2016-17 Atlanta Hawks. You never know what you’re going to get.