Hawks Even Series at 2-2

For the second straight game, Paul Pierce had the chance to be the hero late for the Washington Wizards—but this time, the shot that D.C. needed just didn’t go down.

In Game 3, The Truth got a chance at an incredibly difficult turnaround jumper at the buzzer to win it, and he nailed it. In Game 4 on Monday night at the Verizon Center, Paul got a chance at a deep three that would have tied the score at 104 in the final seconds, but the shot was too long, and it hit off the iron, as the Wizards fell 106-101.

It was a strong effort by Paul and the Wizards to rally and nearly pull off the improbable win after trailing for most of the contest, but they ultimately fell 106-101 to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4. The series is now tied at two games apiece, and the three remaining games in the series will be played in Atlanta-DC-Atlanta, respectively.

“We’re not going to put our heads down,” Paul said after the loss. “Just look at the things we need to do better and get back ready for Game 5.”

The Truth was on fire early in this game, and it was only thanks to his shooting and Bradley Beal’s exceptional all-around game that Washington was even around to threaten the Hawks late.

No. 34 finished with 22 points, five rebounds, an assist and three blocks, while Beal scored a playoff career-high 34 points to go with seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block.

After missing the late three, The Truth took exception to Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll, who fell right at Paul’s feet when he landed—though there was no call. Additionally, Atlanta guard Kyle Korver was clearly seen shuffling his feet on the Hawks’ final play, but there was again no call. A reporter asked The Truth if he was bitter about those two blown calls, or his missed three, and the future Hall of Famer refused to use them as excuses.

“I’m not going to dwell on little calls there at the end or shots that missed,” he said. “It’s a 48-minute game, there’s things that we didn’t do early in the game so we could put ourselves in a better position to win the game.”

Throughout the game, Paul kept his team afloat with some lights-out shooting, and he started right out of the gate. The first Wizards shot of the game was a triple out of Paul’s hands that put Washington up 3-0.

That shot put Paul in sole possession of 20th place all-time in the NBA’s playoff scoring leaderboard, and he trails current Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale by just 38 points for 19th.

Ramon Sessions, filling in for injured All-Star point guard John Wall for the third game in a row, followed that with a three of his own, then The Truth answered with another. Paul then made his presence felt on the defensive end by swatting a Carroll layup, and shortly before the six-minute mark, he added his third make from beyond the arc on a gorgeous spin move off a pump fake that led to a step-back jumper.

No. 34 finished with nine first-quarter points, then he came back and added five more in the second period via another three-pointer and a slick layup. He and Beal combined for 29 of the Wizards’ 55 points in a very strange first half for Washington.

The Wizards shot 51.4 percent from the field in the half and knocked down an incredible 10-for-15 from deep, but they trailed by 10 thanks to 10 turnovers that led to 12 Hawks points.

Paul dominated the third quarter like he did the first, scoring a game-high eight points in the period, and he added yet another bucket from deep, his fifth of the game on five attempts.

Despite his excellent shooting, the Wizards couldn’t get enough offense elsewhere—their bench was outscored 15-5 in the second half and 32-17 for the game—and the Hawks made shots when they needed to, so Washington still trailed by 10 after three.

Paul re-entered the game for the final push with 6:45 remaining and his Wizards down by eight. He soon launched another three, his sixth attempt and first miss of the game, perhaps a bad omen.

Beal dominated the fourth, putting up 13 points and making two steals on the defensive end to give Washington some much-needed stops. One area that hurt the Wizards was perimeter shooting, where they went cold in the third period and freezing in the fourth after an electric first half; the 10-for-15 first half gave way to a paltry 2-for-11 second half.

Still, Washington had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Otto Porter found The Truth spotting up for a three and fed him, and Paul launched the shot. He was a few feet behind the line, so it was a deep attempt, but the legendary small forward had a decent look at it and just about everybody expected it to drop, despite Carroll crashing into Paul’s legs on the landing.

“I thought it was going in,” Beal said after the game. “It was a great look, a great play drawn up by

[head coach Randy Wittman]. They started switching, they were kinda confused, Paul had a great, open look. That open one’s always the hardest one to make. But just knowing that we were right there even though we didn’t play a great game, we still have something to look forward to.”

As Beal explained, the team was disappointed by the loss but not heartbroken. Many expected the Wizards to get blown out the rest of the series after Wall was diagnosed with five non-displaced fractures in his hand and wrist, but the Wizards have come within a few bounces of the ball of sweeping this series themselves.

With how good Washington has been on the road so far this postseason—3-1 with the only loss coming in Game 2 in Atlanta—the Wizards are still very much alive in the series.

“We’re a resilient team, we don’t mind being on the road,” Paul said Monday night. “I think our record speaks for itself on the road. It’s an uphill battle now, trying to go into their building and win again, but I think this squad is up to the challenge.”

NEXT UP

Game 5 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Wednesday evening at Philips Arena. The Wizards still have no timetable for Wall’s return, though it’s assumed the star point guard will be shelved for at least the remainder of this series to avoid further damage to the hand.

Paul has had an absolutely incredible postseason thus far, and despite missing his final two attempts from long range on Monday, he’s still shooting a lights-out 30-for-55 from three-point range.

The Truth is leading the NBA this postseason in three-point percentage among the 35 players with at least 30 attempts, and he’s been no slouch in other areas either.

Game 5 will be broadcast nationally on TNT.

RELATED LINKS

• Wizards come up just short in Game 4 (ESPN, May 11, 2015)
• Paul Pierce postgame interview (Monumental Network, May 11, 2015)
• The Truth gets off to hot start in Game 4 (CBS, May 11, 2015)
• Pierce can’t recreate Game 3 magic (The Washington Times, May 11, 2015)
• Despite Pierce heroics, Wizards needs Wall (SI, May 9)