Washington trailed 48-45 at halftime in Game 1, but with Wall in control, the Wizards outscored Atlanta 38-28 in the third quarter and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth.
Westbrook delivered a triple-double of 51 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds but couldn't get the ball to drop when it counted.
In a rough-and-tumble, foul-filled game, Bradley Beal took over in the fourth quarter with 16 of his 31 points, including a key late 3-pointer, helping the Washington Wizards beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-101 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Millsap says he wants the focus to remain on Washington's biggest weapons, which include the aforementioned Wall, as well as Bradley Beal.
"I was just hoping that he would stick the landing".
While Budenholzer felt his team needs to turn up the intensity to match the Wizards, Millsap seems to have said all he plans to say about Washington's Markieff Morris for the moment.
Two victories against defending National Basketball Association champion Cleveland, including a 26-point comeback.
At the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Chris Vivlamore writes on how poor Atlanta's transition defense was in Game 1 against the Wizards. I was finally able to take some shots and shoot it with confidence, so that's definitely a confidence boost.
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Michelle Yeoh as Aleta Ogord, Starhawk. "Well, I think I would say it's, and as people see more of Ragnarok, it's a Taika tone more than a Guardians tone".
Game three is in Atlanta on Saturday as the Wizards have won five in a row over the Hawks.
In game-1, the Hawks were equally scoring through the second quarter but lagged 7 points by the start of the fourth. As noted in Basketball Insiders' Game 2 Preview, there has been criticism of Howard's defense on the roll man in pick and rolls.
"Just went with some of our smaller groups and he didn't get back in", Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
"Well, since he's been here", Wall said about Jennings. But Dwight Howard had only seven rebounds, half his Game 1 total, and six points.
Durant injured the calf during a Game 1 victory Sunday, when he had 32 points and 10 rebounds in his playoff debut for Golden State. The Wizards and Hawks have some history that dates back to the last time these two teams matched up in the playoffs and while it hasn't developed into a full fledged rivalry, it wouldn't be surprising to see the physicality in this series ramp up from game to game.
The Wizards swept their four-game regular season series against the Hawks.
"Coming in the first two games we just wanted to take one", Lillard said. How far these Wizards go in the playoffs depends entirely on Wall's penetration, scoring, passing, and defending. "He was more physical than me (Sunday), and if that's how we're going to play, then that's how we're going to play, and I've got to do a better job at that".
Paul Millsap had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.
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