Mike Budenholzer has shortened his bench this postseason. The Hawks coach is still finding minutes for Mike Muscala.
The Hawks are being rewarded for it.
Muscala scored eight points, all to start the second quarter, of the Hawks’ 82-81 victory over the Wizards in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night at Philips Arena. The reserve center added three rebounds and an assist in the pivotal win.
“I was just trying to be aggressive when the opportunity is right,” Muscala said. “Not trying to force anything but I’ve got to be a presence out there on offense. It’s important to the team because otherwise they are keying in on Kyle (Korver) and our point guards. When they key in like that, you have to be a threat.”
Muscala was 4 of 5 from the field. He baskets came inside and outside with two layups and 13- and 18-foot jumpers. He played a playoff-high 15 minutes. Pero Antic, who is the first big off the Hawks’ bench, played just seven minutes.
“I’m proud of Mike,” starting center Al Horford said. “I (said) at the beginning of the year that he’s improved a lot over the summer. He has put in a lot of work. I’m proud of him for what he did tonight. I feel like we are a true team, different guys will step up and be ready. We don’t know who it’s going to be.”
Muscala saw crunch-time minutes in Game 5 as well. He played 4:42 of the fourth quarter. He has averaged 11:43 in the postseason with 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds. Muscala appeared in 40 regular-season games and did several stints in the NBA Development League as the Hawks tried to get him playing time.
It was Muscala, at 6-foot-11, who hit a 3-pointer to tie Game 3 in the closing seconds as the Hawks erased a 21-poijnt fourth-quarter deficit only to fall on a Paul Pierce game-winner.
“Mike, my hat goes off to him because he comes to work every day,” DeMarre Carroll said. “Toward the end of the season, he got thrown in there and he produced great. Then he got snatched out again. He came out tonight and he really helped us out big.”
