The Hawks just completed a stretch of three games in five days. This was not your typical cramped schedule of an NBA regular season.
No, this was the pressure-packed postseason.
The Hawks earned a quarterfinal series-clinching win at the Nets Friday and then hosted the opening two games of a semifinal series against the Wizards Sunday and Tuesday. The break between the two series was all of 38 hours. The Hawks will get some rest before the series against the Wizards resumes Saturday in Washington.
“We’ll take the win and take a couple days to rest,” Kyle Korver said after the 106-90 victory to even the series 1-1. “We’ve had a pretty busy stretch the last couple of weeks. We have a couple days to catch our legs and re-group and watch some film and go to Washington.
“It’s good thing for us. We had a tough first series, very physical series. Our off days have been straight recovery days. We haven’t been able to get lifts in or get a bunch of extra shots up. It’s just been getting yourself ready for the next game. This is going to be good for us to be able to take a couple of days here and re-group, get shots up, get a lift in, a massage, sit in a cold tub a bunch of times and try to get right for Saturday.”
The Hawks could use a few days to heal some nagging injuries in what has been a physical series. Jeff Teague has been dealing with a right ankle sprain he aggravated in Game 1. Paul Millsap’s right shoulder strain continues to heal. Al Horford is still wearing a wrap on his dislocated right pinkie finger. Kyle took a shot to the nose, which has already been broken this season, from the Wizards’ Bradley Beal in the fourth quarter that drew blood.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he doesn’t like the long layoffs between games during the playoffs. He might just be okay with this hiatus. The Hawks took Wednesday off before they return to practice Thursday. They will fly to Washington Thursday night before a practice Friday.
The Hawks led Game 1 by as many as 12 points but couldn’t hold the advantage as they faded down the stretch. The held a 12-point lead in the third quarter of Game 2 before the Wizards rally to tie the game. This time, the Hawks had the legs to fight off the charge.
“Tonight was different,” Kent Bazemore said. “We had a little more gas in the tank and we were able to take that blow and fight back. … (The break) will be like hitting the reset button.”
The Hawks are not the only one in the series that can use the break. Although the Wizards had a week off before the start of the series, they have injuries of their own. All-Star point guard John Wall missed Game 2 with a severe left wrist sprain suffered in a fall in Game 1. Wall’s wrist and hand swelled considerably and he was declared inactive after attempting pregame warmups. Surely, Wall can use the three-day break to recover.
“I play through any type of pain,” Wall told reporters Tuesday night. “It was just a pain where I felt like I couldn’t control the ball and do what I can to help my team,” a flustered Wall said. “There is no point. I didn’t want to go out there and have 100 turnovers. It would’ve been a waste of time.”
Wizards coach Randy Wittman said Wall is “day-to-day” and he would continue to be re-evaluated until Game 3.
Wall’s replacement Ramon Sessions scored a team-high 21 points but had just four assists.
Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal suffered a sprained ankle that appeared serious in Game 1 and left for the locker room for an X-ray. He returned to the game but served mostly as a decoy. He showed no ill effects of the injury in Game 2 as he finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
There were no complaints from either team for an extended break.
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