Wizards stun Hawks on Pierce buzzer-beater, grab 2-1 series lead
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Paul Pierce didn't yell 'bank' ... but he might have yelled Game!
On Saturday, the 10-time All-Star and surefire Hall of Famer added to his clutch legacy, burying a 15-foot bank shot at the buzzer and helping the Washington Wizards eke out a 103-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks -- otherwise known as Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
With the nerve-jangling win, the Wizards grabbed a 2-1 series lead and maintained home-court advantage against the top-seeded Hawks. Game 4 will be at Washington's Verizon Center on Monday night.
When we say Pierce helped pull out a Saturday victory ... we really mean he rescued Washington from a potentially epic collapse in the fourth quarter, with the Wizards squandering a 21-point lead with nine-plus minutes and needing Pierce's surreal bank shot to avoid overtime.
During that tide-turning stretch, Washington's shots suddenly fell flat and Hawks reserves like Dennis Schroder (18 points, five assists), Mike Scott, Kent Bazemore and Mike Muscala came alive, logging the lion's share of minutes in the end.
In fact, it was Muscala who nailed the game-tying three-pointer with 23.8 ticks left, the result of Schroder slipping while dribbling away from two defenders along the perimeter -- but having the quick-reflex instinct to kick the ball out to the open Muscala.
It was redoubtably the biggest play in Muscala's young career. Unfortunately for the Hawks, it would soon be trumped by Pierce's game-winner at the buzzer -- quite possibly the greatest single moment in Wizards' history.
(The Washington Bullets captured the NBA championship in 1978.)
"I got the ball in a great spot. Coach (Randy Wittman) drew up a play -- it's something we just put in (Friday)," recalled Pierce in his post-game media address.
"Got the (defensive) switch, got the smaller guy on me. Took my time. I wanted to make sure I got the shot off with no time on the clock. I've been in those situations many times. If I missed the shot, we didn't want them to have a chance to call a timeout, advance the ball. So I took my time, got to my spot and was able to knock it down."
And Wittman was happy to see Pierce execute the play -- make or miss.
"These are the moments you have a guy like him," said Wittman of Pierce.
* * *
Even with the Hawks' furious rally, the Wizards essentially went wire-to-wire with the lead (Atlanta led by two in the opening minutes), racing to a 10-point advantage after the first quarter and incrementally widening that gap with each successive period.
Five Wizards players (including four starters) scored in double figures against the Hawks, led by Bradley Beal (17 points, eight assists), who deftly handled the ball-sharing duties of his fallen friend, All-Star guard John Wall, who tumbled hard to the floor in Game 1 (while inadvertently being clipped by Hawks guard Jeff Teague on a fast-break drive) and subsequently incurred five non-displaced fractures in his non-shooting hand.
It's anyone's guess as to when Wall will return for this series; but informal talks with Washington-area media members suggest the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft will be sidelined for another 7-10 days -- if not longer.
Obviously, Wall's presence on the court trumps all other scenarios involving the Washington players.
However, it's also safe to say the Wizards have adjusted well to Wall's absence, calling on point guard Ramon Sessions (eight points, six assists), Will Bynum (nine points) and the aforementioned Beal to spread the floor and share the ball, while creating convenient scoring windows for the big men.
Which brings us to Nene Hilario, the enigmatic power forward who notched a grand total of two points in Games 1 and 2, drawing the ire of Washington fans, media and even Wizards head coach Randy Wittman, who publicly challenged Nene to pick up the scoring slack on Saturday (pregame media address).
The response: Hilario was a true dynamo in the paint, scoring 17 points (on 7 of 9 shooting), while collecting seven rebounds and four assists.
Nene's admirable presence took the high-scoring pressure off Beal, Marcin Gortat (14 points, eight rebounds), reserve Otto Porter (17 points, nine boards) and Pierce (13 points, seven rebounds) -- the rock-steady veteran who has raised Washington's championship hopes, with largely a perimeter-oriented offensive game.
Not that anyone on the Wizards' side cares about Pierce's declining overall skills on this day.
"(The Wizards) set a good screen and we couldn't switch out, and Pierce made a fading bank shot," recalled Korver of the final play. "I give him credit, but that was a hard (loss) to take."
On the flip side, the Hawks were miserable shooters for the first 3 1/2 quarters, barely clearing 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line.
Within that scope, it's impossible to believe that Atlanta sharpshooter Kyle Korver -- one of the greatest long-distance shooters of the NBA's modern era -- attempted only three shots in the first 3 1/2 quarters (making both triples) and just five total for the game.
(Korver actually had a clean look to potentially tie the game at 101 in the final minute, right before Muscala connected on his only made three-pointer.)
By all accounts, Atlanta's fate had been sealed with 3:43 left in the third quarter, when Sessions fielded a defensive rebound and immediately fired a full-court outlet pass to Beal.
In a bout of poor communication, the only two Hawks defenders near the rim both sprinted toward Beal beyond the arc ... who obliged the bad strategic move and easily found Porter for a dunk at the unmanned basket.
The red-white-and-blue-clad at Verizon Center erupted on Porter's throw-down, sensing that a 17-point lead with 15-plus minutes remaining would be enough to clinch Game 3.
But it wasn't ... even though you never got the sense Washington was in grave danger.
That may have been the wayward rationale from watching Atlanta's reserves handle the pressure-packed minutes in the end.
Of the final 7:22, the Hawks reserves (including Schroder's 12 during that span) accounted for all 25 points.
