Hawks at Wizards
The Washington Wizards took some criticism in the regular season for not being tough enough on the defensive end, but the playoffs are a different story. The Wizards look to continue being the aggressors and attempt to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series when they host the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Fourth-seeded Washington pulled off a 114-107 win in the first-round series opener on Sunday despite sending the Hawks to the free-throw line 39 times. "The difference in the game was we were playing basketball and they were playing MMA," Atlanta forward Paul Millsap told reporters. "They were physical. When the game is like that, we have to match their physicality. But again, we've got to go get some moves and bring them back to the court." Washington has no intention of letting up after watching its aggression lead to 69 second-half points in the win. "I think it was just pride for us," Wizards small forward Otto Porter Jr. told the Washington Post. "We had to take the challenge. It's playoff time, so we upped it up another notch."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Atlanta needed to control the tempo and hang onto the ball in Game 1, but instead committed 21 turnovers and allowed 25 fast-break points in the setback. "We were ahead at halftime and 17 fast-break points (in the first half) was something we felt we could really improve on," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "To some degree we did that. The game obviously changed. It will continue to be an emphasis. It's not the only thing. We have to do a lot of things well." Budenholzer started rookie Taurean Prince at small forward instead of veteran defensive stopper Thabo Sefolosha, who did not get off the bench, and intents to stick with that lineup moving forward.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS: All-Star point guard John Wall scored a playoff career-high 32 points to go with 14 assists and led the charge in the third quarter when Washington came out with a faster tempo. "Just being aggressive," Wall told reporters. "We started to get a lot of stops out in transition and I got into a rhythm of knocking down shots and being more aggressive." Power forward Markieff Morris joined Wall in the aggressive tone, getting in the face of Millsap while pouring in 21 points and recording four blocks.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards SG Bradley Beal went 2-of-11 from 3-point range in Game 1.
2. Hawks C Dwight Howard finished the regular season with a streak of 13 straight double-digit scoring efforts but was held to seven points on Sunday.
3. Atlanta lost Game 1 to Washington in the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals before recovering to win the series on six games.