Wizards edge Hawks
Washington 1 win from Round 2 after 103-99 victory over Atlanta
WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall figured the credit went to the down-the-stretch defence displayed by his Washington Wizards.
Neither Dennis Schroder nor coach Mike Budenholzer found any flaws with the way their Atlanta Hawks handled things late.
Either way, the odd manner in which Atlanta seemed to allow the final half-minute or so to slip away while trailing — not fouling Washington to try to extend things; passing around the ball instead of shooting it as the clock headed toward zero — left the Wizards on the verge of closing out the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Wall added 20 points and 14 assists, leading Washington to a 103-99 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday for a 3-2 series lead.
“I thought they were going to play the foul game — or at least try to trap. But they let us run the clock down,” Wall said, noting that he felt as if he and his teammates finished “with the best scrambling defence we had.”
Schroder led the Hawks with 29 points and 11 assists. But after his basket from beyond the arc pulled Atlanta within 101-99 with 70 seconds left, Wall responded with a 21-foot pull-up jumper. Neither team would score the rest of the way.
“It was right there,” Schroder said. “We’ve just got to be better in crunch time.”
The home team has won every game in this series.
Washington can reach the conference semifinals by winning Game 6 at Atlanta on Friday.
“It’s got to be us,” Budenholzer said, “that’s the aggressor.”
As it is, the series has been filled with physical play, referee whistles and smack talk, including a “Crybaby” accusation and a comparison to MMA fighting.
Rockets owner fined $100,000 for confronting ref
NEW YORK — Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for confronting a referee during live game action.
The NBA’s president of league operations, Byron Spruell, announced the fine Wednesday.
The incident occurred Tuesday in the first quarter of the Rockets’ 105-99 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Alexander got up out of his courtside seat and walked toward Bill Kennedy. Alexander then said something to Kennedy before turning around and heading back to his seat.
The Rockets eliminated the Thunder in five games and will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals.