By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
John Wall scored 42 points – a career playoff high , with 19 coming in the fourth quarter to single-handedly hold off a furious Atlanta comeback – and the Wizards eliminated the Hawks with a 115-99 victory Friday, capturing the opening-round playoff series 4-2.
Dennis Schroder had 26 points but it was far for enough for the Hawks, who also got 6 points from Calderon and one for Ilyasova. Polish big man Marcin Gortat had 2 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and Croatian Bogdan Bogdanovic added 10 points.
Avery Bradley scored 23 points, and the hot-shooting Celtics pounded the Chicago Bulls 105-83 to win their first-round series 4-2, becoming the first team since the 1969 Lakers that lost the first two games at home and then won four straight. Sweden’s Jonad Jerebko added 3 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners, while Mirotic scored 5, Zipser had 7 and Lauvergne had 8 for the Bulls.
Last but not least, Chris Paul scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Clippers forced a Game 7 in their first-round series with a 98-93 victory over the Utah Jazz. French big man Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds, with Boris Diaw adding 5 points.