Wall, Beal shine as Wizards topple Hawks

Millsap and Wizards forward Markieff Morris were locked in a physical tussle all game, which resulted in some heated moments. Washington's All-Star turned the game flow in the third quarter, preventing the Atlanta Hawks from wrestling away home-court advantage.

Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) is guarded by Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, in Washington. However, the streak I would pay more attention to is the three straight wins the Wizards have over the Hawks this season.

Morris took a jab at Millsap before the series began by forcing reporters to call him a power forward and Millsap a "stretch 4", insinuating Millsap was "soft" by his prior comments.

"The difference in the game was we were playing basketball and they were playing MMA", Millsap said after scoring 19 points. The Hawks only hope of pulling a game out of this series is Millsap having a monster game on both ends of the floor.

Wizards: Porter scored his first basket of the game on a 20-foot jumper just 16 seconds into the second half - and less than 1½ minutes later, he picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench.

The point here is that I am not sure if Atlanta has shown enough consistency to make a deep run in the playoffs. He's the most mild-mannered person that I've been around that has a competitive spirit.

If the Hawks have any prayer of getting back into this series at home, they are going to have to make a serious commitment to slowing down Washington's explosive backcourt.

All that scrambling inside could create more tension like Sunday's altercation.

As for the 15 points and assists on almost every play in the third quarter, Wall just said he was defending his house. Morris, who had 21 points in 38 minutes in Game 1, had three in 20 during Game 2. "It's all love of the game. Trash talk all the time, man". "If we're going to jostle the whole series, then that's what it's going to be", Morris said. We had to get used to a new system and we were gaining chemistry with the new guys we had. But it wasn't just shooting fouls that clogged this game up - it was common ones that prevented the game from ever generating a decent pace or rhythm. "I think it's important that we come out and get this one Wednesday and take it back to Atlanta". Center Dwight Howard, who will be playing in his 90th career playoff game on Tuesday, recorded a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win and enters the postseason averaging a double-double at 13.5 points and 12.7 boards. "That's who we've been playing against all year", Porter said.

"I heard Millsap saying they don't want Brad and John to score as much and they want to let us [other Wizards] score - basically is what he's saying", Morris said according to The Post.

"When they got it going, they're hitting tough shots in the first half, some you've just got to live with, we played great defense", Curry said.

JW: Well, I changed a lot. The best player on the Nationals is much more open to debate, but if you had to pick one player, it's not a bad idea to choose the only guy on the team to win the league MVP award.