WASHINGTON _ The playoffs have begun.
Make no mistake.
In a physical game _ with plenty of heated words exchanged _ the Hawks took one punch from the Wizards. But not two.
The Wizards grabbed control of a game they led early with a strong third quarter. The result was a 114-107 victory over the Hawks in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Sunday afternoon at the Verizon Center.
The Wizards put up 38 third-quarter points, with John Wall scoring 15 of them. The Wizards had 17 field goals in the third quarter. They had 16 in the first half. The Wizards took an 83-76 lead into the fourth quarter despite leading by as many as 14 points in the period. The Wizards pushed their lead to as many as 15 points and held on for the series-opening win.
The Hawks closed to within five points, 108-103, with 2:04 remaining on a Taurean Prince 3-pointer. However, the Wizards scored the next four points from the free-throw line.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 25 points and seven assists. Paul Millsap (19 points), Prince (14) and Kent Bazemore (12) also scored in double figures. Dwight Howard had 14 rebounds. The Hawks committed 21 turnovers.
Wall led the Wizards with a game-high 32 points and 14 assists. Bradley Beal and 22 points and Markieff Morris had 21 points. Marcin Gortat had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter as the Wizards took a 23-12 lead. However, the Hawks answered with a 17-2 run to end the period with a 29-25 lead. The Hawks led the entire second quarter and took a 48-45 advantage at halftime.
The Hawks took 22 first-half free throws, making 19 straight after missing their first three attempts. The Wizards took just nine with the last three questionable. Millsap was called for a three-shot foul on Morris with 0.1 seconds left in the half. Millsap objected. He and Morris exchanged words and had to be separated after the Wizards forward made all three attempts.
