Despite the broken hand, John Wall was a go for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks. With the series tied 2-2, Wall wanted to do all he could to put the Wizards in a position to close out the series at home in Game 6.
Things started out pretty well for the Wizards, who nursed a 47-41 lead at halftime. The 3rd quarter started out well again for the Wizards, but ended with the Hawks outscoring them by seven points.
The 4th quarter is when things got interesting. The Wizards looked like they were going to run away with this game; but a deep three by Kyle Korver and then a corner three by Al Horford, and suddenly the Hawks were right back in it.
Before you could even tell what was happening, a few big plays on the offensive and defensive sides of the court by Horford had his team up by five.
Enter The Truth. Paul Pierce wasn’t going home easily, especially after the crowd chanted “Paul Pierce sucks!” Maybe they forgot about this game-winning shot in Game 3; or maybe Atlanta is just jealous that while Pierce has gotten better and better as the season progressed, the Hawks have been on a steady decline since the All-Star Break. Respect greatness, guys…
Anyways, Pierce hit a three to bring the Wiz within two. Shortly after, Pierce hit another three from the corner, putting them up by one with just under 10 seconds to go. That sure shut the crowd up.
Well, in the end, the Hawks got the last laugh. Dennis Schroder’s game-winning layup attempt was blocked, but Horford came out of nowhere for the rebound. His shot found the bottom of the net, and with no timeouts for the Wizards that was all she wrote.
The series shifts back to Washington, D.C. for Game 6 on Friday.