ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks didn’t wilt in the fourth quarter this time and their second-round playoff series with the Wizards is going to Washington with each team owning a victory.
Forward DeMarre Carroll led five double-figure scorers with 22 points and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference used an 11-2 run midway in the final quarter to pull away for 106-90 victory Tuesday night.
Washington, which had rallied for a 104-98 victory in the opener on Sunday, played Game 2 without John Wall, sidelined by an injured left wrist. Ramon Sessions started in place of the guard and scored 21 points, but the only Washington lead was at 7-6.
The Wizards shot just 12 free throws, making seven, and lost for the first time in the postseason after sweeping Toronto in the first round.
Forward Paul Millsap and center Al Horford each scored 18 points for the Hawks, with Millsap also grabbing 11 rebounds.
Guard Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards, while forwards Paul Pierce and Otto Porter scored 15 points each. Center Marcin Gortat fouled out in the fourth quarter with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Game 3 in Washington isn’t until Saturday, giving Wall extra time to heal. The Hawks, though, could also benefit after not finishing off their first-round series with Brooklyn until last Friday.
X-rays of Wall’s wrist were negative and the NBA All-Star had insisted he would be ready for Game 2. Coach Randy Wittman had also indicated Wall was going to play, calling him “one of the toughest guys I’ve been around.”
Wall averaged 17.6 points and 10 assists during the regular season, then had contributed 17.4 points and 12.6 assists in the playoffs.
Down by 10 points in the second quarter, the Wizards battled back for a tie on a 3-pointer by Porter with two minutes left in the third. The Hawks, though, scored the final five points of the quarter for a 78-73 lead and dominated the final period.
Sessions had the Wizards’ first 10 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-point baskets, but forward Kent Bazemore gave the Hawks a lift with two 3-pointers of his own.
Like the Hawks had in Game 1, they jumped out early on the Wizards, taking a 28-20 first-quarter lead on 52.2 percent shooting.
Atlanta was up 41-31 midway in the second quarter and led 53-46 at halftime.
Millsap had 13 points, Carroll 12 and Horford eight as the Hawks’ starting frontline put up 33 first-half points on 14-for-24 shootings.
Beal led Washington with nine points at intermission, but missed eight of his 12 first-half shots. The Wizards stayed in striking distance by going 6-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc.
NOTES: G Ramon Sessions started for the Wizards in place of G John Wall, who was inactive after injuring his left wrist during a second-quarter fall in Game 1. He had insisted earlier Tuesday that he would play but was scratched after testing the wrist. Wall returned to the opener after the fall, contributing 18 points and 12 assists. … G Bradley Beal started for Washington despite spraining his right ankle in the opener. … Atlanta went 35-6 at home during the regular season and won all three home games in the first round against Brooklyn. … The Hawks haven’t won a second-round playoff series since moving to Atlanta in the late 1960s, going 0-13. The franchise last advanced past the second round in 1958 while winning its only NBA title in St. Louis. … The Hawks won three of the four regular-season meetings. The Wizards’ only victory came when Atlanta rested its starters at Washington on April 12. … The Wizards had only six turnovers in Game 1. … The Hawks scored 37 points in the first quarter of the opener but just 35 in the second half. Only 15 points came in the fourth quarter when Atlanta shot 17.9 percent from the field.