Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks

Wizards 103, Hawks 101

Washington Wizards players mob Paul Pierce on the floor after his game winning shot as time expired after Game 3 of the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs Saturday, May 9, 2015, in Washington. The Wizards won 103-101. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Washington Wizards players mob Paul Pierce on the floor after his game winning shot as time expired after Game 3 of the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs Saturday, May 9, 2015, in Washington. The Wizards won 103-101. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
By Chris Vivlamore
May 10, 2015

Wizards 103, Hawks 101

How the game was won: Paul Pierce drained a buzzer-beating 21-foot jump shot to lift the Wizards to a dramatic victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series. The Hawks trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter before a rally led by the reserves, including a 17-0 run, made it close. Mike Muscala hit a 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds left to tie the game at 101-101 before Pierce's heroics.

Turning point: The Hawks rallied with a reserve-lead charge with Dennis Schroder, Mike Scott, Shelvin Mack and Muscala nearly completing the impossible. Schroder scored 18 points for the Hawks, 16 in the fourth quarter.

Number: 17. Points for the Wizards' Nene. The forward entered the game with a total of two points after shooting 0 of 9 in Games 1 and 2. He had 13 first-half points as the Wizards built a significant lead.

Next: The series continues in Washington with Game 4 on Monday night.

About the Author

Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.

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