WASHINGTON — Forward DeMarre Carroll had 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks survived a frantic finish to eliminate the Washington Wizards with a 94-91 win in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series on Friday night.
Forward Paul Millsap added 20 points and 13 rebounds, and guard Jeff Teague scored 20 points for the Hawks, who advanced despite blowing a 15-point lead in the second half.
Atlanta also endured despite another clutch 3-pointer from Wizards forward Paul Pierce, but it came tenths of a second after the final buzzer.
The Hawks reached the conference finals for the first time since 1970. Atlanta faces the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. The top seed in the East, the Hawks host Game 1 on Wednesday night.
Trailing by three after Hawks center Al Horford split two free throws with 6.4 seconds left, Washington called its final timeout. Starting possession on the left wing, the Wizards fed Pierce, who hit a buzzer-beating jumper to win Game 3 and a go-ahead 3-pointer in Game 5 eventually won by Atlanta.
Covered tightly in the left corner, Pierce rose up and drained the tying shot, sending the Verizon Center crowd into a frenzy. Smiles turned to frowns a minute later upon further review as game officials overturned the call.
Guards Bradley Beal and John Wall fueled Washington’s comeback. Beal scored 29 points, including the final six during a 9-0 spurt to put the Wizards up 88-87 with 3:50 remaining after trailing the entire second half. Carroll countered with consecutive baskets for a 93-89 with 31 seconds left.
Wall had 20 points and 13 assists in 44 minutes. Washington’s All-Star guard played the entire second half without any apparent hesitation in his second game back after suffering five fractures in his left hand and wrist during the first game of the series.
The score in each of the previous three games in the series were three points or less inside the final four seconds. Horford’s putback with 0.9 of a second remaining gave Atlanta an 82-81 victory on Wednesday night. He scored 13 points in the series clincher.
Both teams struggled on 3-pointers. The Wizards shot 36.6 percent from the field overall.
Millsap, a nightmare matchup for Washington throughout the series, had 15 points in the first half as Atlanta scored the final six points for a 45-39 lead. The Hawks extended the lead to 62-47 in the third as Carroll scored 13 in the quarter.
NOTES: The Wizards previously lost three straight when they dropped four in a row from March 20 to March 25. … Atlanta last reached the conference finals in 1970. The Hawks were in the Western Conference at the time. Washington’s appearance in the conference finals occurred in 1979. … Wizards C Kevin Seraphin entered in the first quarter after not playing in the previous three games. … Hawks G Kyle Korver had a basket 77 seconds into Game 6. He didn’t make his first in Game 5 until sinking a 3-pointer with 4:58 remaining in the game. … Atlanta won three of four games against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the regular season.