ATLANTA — With their magical season on the brink, the Atlanta Hawks needed someone to come up big.
Al Horford wasn’t supposed to be the guy.
He would not be denied.
The Hawks center swooped in to snatch an offensive rebound and dropped in a shot from right under the basket with 1.9 seconds remaining, giving top-seeded Atlanta an 82-81 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night and a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I wasn’t supposed to be involved in the play at all,” Horford said. “When I saw the ball go up, I just ran in there.”
In a game of back-and-forth runs, the Hawks went more than 7 minutes in the fourth quarter without making a basket, then ripped off 14 straight points to take the lead. Atlanta went cold again, and it looked as though Paul Pierce had doomed Atlanta for the second time in the series. Having already made a buzzer-beating winner in Game 3, he got open in the corner and swished a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left, putting the Wizards up 81-80.
Pierce taunted the Hawks bench and home crowd on his way back down the court before bowling over John Wall, who was playing for the first time since Game 1 after fracturing several bones in his left hand.
Wall didn’t mind, throwing up his hands in celebration. The Wizards were on the verge of heading home with a chance to wrap up the series.
Atlanta had one more chance.
The Hawks gave the ball to backup point guard Dennis Schroder, who ignited a fourth-quarter rally and stayed in the game at the suggestion of All-Star Jeff Teague, who watched the closing minutes from the bench.
Schroder drove down the lane and put up a shot, which was swatted off the backboard by Wall. But Horford yanked the ball away from Nene, who tumbled to the court, leaving the Hawks center all alone under the basket. Horford, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds, put it the easy shot on a night when both teams struggled offensively.
“A heck of a play by Al,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The Wizards threw up a wild shot from halfcourt that didn’t come close as the horn sounded. The sellout crowd nearly stormed the court, held back by security while the Hawks celebrated. Horford screamed and pumped his fists, having put the Hawks one victory away from advancing to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since the team moved to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968.
WARRIORS 98, GRIZZLIES 78
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry turned in an MVP-worthy performance, Klay Thompson snapped out of his shooting funk and Golden State rolled to a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Curry scored 18 points on six 3-pointers and added a career-playoff high six steals to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Thompson scored 21 points, and Harrison Barnes had 14 as the Warriors won their second straight game in impressive fashion.
Game 6 is Friday night in Memphis.
With defensive stopper Tony Allen sidelined with a left hamstring injury, the Grizzlies struggled to contain Golden State’s streaky shooters. The Warriors made 14 of 30 shots from 3-point range, while Memphis made just four of 15 from long distance.
Marc Gasol had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Zach Randolph had 13 points and 10 boards for the Grizzlies.
