Short takes: Horford comes through, and Teague bows out

The Hawks' Al Horford hits the game-winning shot to beat Washington and give his team a 3-2 series lead. (Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com)

By Jeff Schultz

May 14, 2015

So you might've heard by now: The Hawks won a game Wednesday night to take a 3-2 series lead over the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Here's a link to the game column.

Here are my three "short takes" on the game:

1. BIG AL'S BIG MOMENT: Al Horford is the senior member of the Hawks so it was fitting that he should be central to the biggest win of this postseason so far. He was a force at both ends of the court, leading the team with 23 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and two assists -- and won the game with a last-second rebound and put back. "Al was a monster for us," said Jeff Teague. "He's the cornerstone of the franchise," said Kyle Korver.

2. TEAGUE GIVES WAY TO SCHRODER: How rare is it that a starter will turn down a chance to go into a game because he thinks his backup is playing too good to take out? That happened in Game 5. Teague hit some key shots but he did not have a great game against the Wizards (seven turnovers) and he played only 5:33 of the fourth quarter. Coach Mike Budenholzer attempted to send Teague into the game for the final few minutes. With Teague waiting at the scorer's table, Dennis Schroder hit a pull-up jumper with 2:55 left to give the Hawks a 76-73 lead. That's when Teague walked back to the bench. "We got a steal and Dennis hit a pull-up jumper and I just said, 'Let it go man. Let him ride it out.'"

3. KORVER'S NON-SHOOTING IMPACT: Kyle Korver was scoreless (0-for-4) until hitting a three-point shot with 4:58 left to help the Hawks rally from a nine-point deficit (73-64). But he impacted the Hawks in other ways. He blocked two shots in the first half. He had five rebounds and six steals -- none bigger than with 19.9 seconds left against Paul Pierce when the game was tied 78-78. The steal ignited a fastbreak, which was finished by DeMarre Carroll. "I saw (Pierce) kind of turn his back," Korver said. "I thought there was an opening to take a swipe at it."

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