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Atlanta Hawks handle Washington Wizards for first win in series

By Stan Awtrey, The Sports Xchange
Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) scores and is fouled by Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) in the first half. File photo by Mark Goldman/UPI
Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) scores and is fouled by Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) in the first half. File photo by Mark Goldman/UPI | License Photo

ATLANTA -- Forward Paul Millsap had 29 points and 14 rebounds for his second straight double-double and the Atlanta Hawks led wire-to-wire in beating the Washington Wizards 116-98 on Saturday in Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Millsap was 12 of 20 from the field and had five assists. His only problem was at the line, where he was 5 of 9. Millsap had 19 double-doubles during the regular season.

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Washington leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 on Monday in Atlanta. Game 5 returns to Washington on Wednesday.

Atlanta also got 27 points from Dennis Schroder, 20 of those in the first half, with nine assists. Rookie Taurean Prince scored 16 points.

Washington got 29 points from guard John Wall, who was 10 of 12 from the field and added seven assists and four rebounds. Wall scored 32 points in each of the first two games.

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Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 13 points. Bradley Beal, who had 31 in the second game of the series, was 6 of 20 and scored 12 points. Bojan Bogdanovic added 11 points.

The Hawks broke out of the gate and got three consecutive 3-pointers from Price, Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. to take a 13-2 lead. Atlanta continued to add to its lead, reaching 20 when Schroder's basket made it 30-10 and reaching 25 when Schroder dropped in a 3-pointer to make it 38-13.

Washington regrouped and scored the final seven points of the quarter, capped by a last-second 3-pointer from Wall that trimmed the lead to 38-20.

The Hawks shots 65 percent from the field in the first quarter and made five 3-pointers. Washington shot 30.4 percent from the field and was 1 of 6 on 3-pointers.

Wall sparked the Wizards to a second-quarter comeback and helped them get within 15 points. He finished with 21 points in the half as the Wizards closed the gap to 64-46 at intermission.

Washington cut the lead to 13 points when Wall's jump shot made it 73-60 with 7:19 remaining. Atlanta answered with eight straight points, four of them from Millsap, to regain control. The Hawks led 90-67 after three quarters.

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The Wizards made one last run in the fourth quarter. They drew within 12 when Beal scored on a tip to make it 93-81 with 8:09 remaining. Schroder answered with his first basket of the second half and the Hawks scored nine straight to put the game away.

NOTES: After shooting 86.8 percent and 82.1 percent from the line in the first two games, Atlanta made only 19 of 32 (59.4 percent). ... Atlanta's 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter was the largest by the team since 1967. ... Atlanta PG Dennis Schroder and Washington PG John Wall were each assessed technical fouls for some verbal sparring after Wall was fouled early in the third quarter. ... Washington was without backup C Ian Mahinmi, who missed his second straight game with a strained left calf. Mahinmi warmed up before the game, but team officials said he would not play Monday. ... Washington PF Jason Smith fouled out in eight minutes.

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