The crowd erupted in the final second of Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks when Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce sank a season-saving three-pointer to send the game into overtime. The collective movement of tens of thousands of people jumping out of their seats in elated amazement quickly faded as Wizards players and fans meticulously and nervously reviewed the video as the replay of the shot was featured over and over on the Jumbotron.
Was Pierce’s foot in bounds? Was he behind the arch? Did he get the ball off in time? These questions flooded into minds all over the Verizon Center. Then, with a swipe of the referee’s arms, the three-pointer was overturned and the Wizards season officially came to an end as they lost 94-91 to the Hawks.
Five of the six games played between Washington and Atlanta in this postseason playoff series have been decided by five points or less.
Both teams knew that there was going to be no easy victory in Game 6. While the Wizards did manage to rally and close the Hawks’ lead later in the game, the home team began with a slow start. This made the game an uphill battle for them, exacerbated by missed layups and turnovers, which kept Washington trailing a large majority of the game. At the end of the first half, Wizards point guard John Wall had 11 points, shooting guard Bradley Beal had nine points and center Kevin Seraphin followed with eight. Otherwise, the team collectively really struggled to get it into the net during the first half of play.
Despite having five non-displaced fractures in his hand and wrist, Wall brought his usual up-tempo vision and play coupled with his aggressiveness in the paint to help cut the Hawks lead down to eight. Beal had many spectacular moments in the second half including several field goals and successful free throws which brought the Wizards ahead by a point. Wall and Beal combined to finish the game with 49 points.
Washington power forward Nene contributed some excellent rebounding in the latter part of the game, which helped his team gain possession. But in the paint he played with little control, often throwing the ball too hard against the backboard rather than finessing it in for the easy layups. His rebounding efforts were often squandered by teammates who received the ball from him and proceeded to exercise poor passing decisions and rushed offensive actions resulting in turnovers and easy layups by Atlanta.
The need for urgency at the end of the game was obvious as the Wizards and the Hawks continued to battle for the lead. But that urgency too often translated into rushed moments which did not help Washington’s case.
With 1:14 remaining in the game, the score was tied at 89. Tensions ran high in the final minute, which was finalized by Pierce hitting the aforementioned end-of-game fading three-pointer. Unfortunately for Washington, it was a couple of hundredths of a second too late leaving Pierce’s hand and the 17-season veteran was left feeling devastated.
This Wizards loss means the Atlanta Hawks win the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on All-Star forward Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The season is over but Wizards fans can be hopeful and excited for next season considering the team’s strong play throughout 2014-15. With Paul Pierce turning 38 this year, the experienced veteran may be ready to hang up his sneakers and start considering a post-basketball life for himself. Washington fans will just have to wait and see.