Quick Hitters
Wall scores playoff-best 32 in Wizards win over Hawks
WASHINGTON — John Wall scored a playoff career-high 32 points and Markieff Morris added 21 in his NBA playoff debut as the Washington Wizards beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-107 Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Wall scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished with 14 assists in the best playoff performance of his young career. Morris, in his first taste of the postseason after 448 regular-season games, caught fire early in the second half to push Washington ahead, and the Wizards held on to take the series lead.
Bradley Beal had 22 points for the Wizards, who got enough from their top players to offset 25 points from Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder and 19 from Paul Millsap. Center Dwight Howard had 14 rebounds but just seven points for the Hawks, who dominated inside and on the boards early but couldn’t contain Wall, Beal and Morris.
Drawing a foul on a 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer, Morris scored eight consecutive points for the Wizards to get them back into the game. When Otto Porter’s 3-pointer gave the Wizards a 53-52 lead, it was their first time ahead since the first quarter, and they were able to pull away.
Colon dominates Padres
ATLANTA — Bartolo Colon allowed only hit in seven dominant innings, Brandon Phillips drove in three runs with three hits and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 9-2 on Sunday for their fourth straight win.
Colon (1-1) overpowered the Padres in his home debut with the Braves. He signed a $12.5 million, one-year contract with Atlanta in November.
Ryan Schimpf’s homer in the second was the only hit allowed by the 43-year-old Colon. The righthander allowed only one more baserunner — a leadoff walk to Schimpf in the fifth before Hunter Renfroe hit into a double play. Colon had six strikeouts.
The Padres led 1-0 until Tyler Flowers’ single drove in Phillips and Adonis Garcia in the fifth. Phillips’ one-out single was the first hit allowed by Trevor Cahill (0-2).
Phillips had a two-run single in the sixth and a run-scoring single in the eighth. Ender Inciarte hit his fourth homer in the seventh.
The Braves’ winning streak has followed five straight losses. They have opened SunTrust Park with three straight wins over the Padres, giving them seven straight wins in the series since last season.