Wall, Beal help boost confidence

Dynamic backcourt guides Washington against Celtics

ATLANTA — John Wall refused to give in. Even as Dennis Schroder took off the other way, ahead of everyone for what looked like an uncontested layup, Wall managed to chase him down.

On a night when Wall set a career playoff-high with 42 points, his remarkable defensive play was a big reason the Washington Wizards moved on to the second round of the playoffs with a 115-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

“That's a sign of a champion,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “He gave us everything he had.”

The Wizards will face the top-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 1 is Sunday in Boston. After the home team won the first five games of the opening-round series, the Wizards finally broke through on the road to end Atlanta's season.

It was a much-needed confidence boost heading into a series lacking the home-court advantage.

“We can win on the road,” said Bradley Beal, who scored 31 in the series-clinching victory. “Just being able to withstand their run and coming together and getting the win on the road, that's the biggest thing.”

Washington never trailed in Game 6, building a 22-point cushion early in the third quarter. Atlanta made a game of it, launching a furious comeback that closed the gap to 93-90 with more than eight minutes remaining. Schroder, one of the NBA's fastest players, had a chance to cut it to a single point when he picked off Beal's errant pass.

But Wall came up from behind, timed his leap perfectly and swatted the ball away .

Then, at the offensive end, he split two defenders with a behind-the-back dribble and a crossover, somehow getting the driving shot to fall as he slammed into burly Paul Millsap. The Hawks missed a 3-pointer, Wall countered with a pull-up jumper, and just like that the Wizards were up 97-90.

They pulled away from there, getting 19 points from Wall in the final period.

Brooks is just as impressed with what Wall, as well as Beal, provide beyond the stat sheet.

“We have a lot of good players who help us win games, but his leadership and Brad's leadership have been great for our young players,” the first-year Wizards coach said. “I couldn't ask for two better guys to lead our team.”

Wall and Beal will certainly lead the way against the Celtics, who bounced back from losing the first games at home to beat No. 8 seed Chicago 4-2.

The teams split four regular-season meetings.