Wall, Wizards close out Hawks
John Wall scored 42 points, Bradley Beal added 31 and the Wizards withstood a furious Atlanta comeback to close out the host Hawks with a 115- 99 victory, winning the opening- round playoff series 4- 2.
The Hawks fell behind by 22 early in the third quarter before making a game of it down the stretch. But the home team never led, and Wall stymied the rally with huge plays at both ends of the court.
Wall’s block of Dennis Schroder’s layup kept the Hawks from closing within a point, and Wall hit every big shot in the closing minutes. He scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, ensuring that Washington picked up the first road victory by either team in the series.
The-Wizards advanced to face top- seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 31 points, and Schroder had 26.
The Magic are interested in Kevin McHale for their vacant team president position, according to USA Today.
NHL Tarasenko leads Blues
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal with 3: 51 left to give the Blues a 3- 2 victory over the visiting Predators in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference semifinal series.
Jori Lehtera also scored for the Blues, and Jake Allen stopped 22 shots, including 14 in the third period.
Ryan Ellis had a goal and an assist, and James Neal also scored for the Predators, who had their franchise- high fivegame postseason winning streak snapped. Pekka Rinne finished with 17 saves.
Game 3 is Sunday at Nashville.
MISCELLANEOUS PGA hands out penalty
The first team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years produced the first penalty for slow play since 1995. Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell were penalized one shot on the 14th hole of the opening round at the Zurich Classic for their second bad time.
Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith posted a 10- under 62 in the second round to move into the lead.
Maria Sharapova won again to move into the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals.
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray advanced to the Barcelona Open semifinals.
An endorsement deal with Nike, Under Armour or Adidas is not in the cards for Lonzo Ball, according to ESPN.