NBA Playoff Betting – (1) Hawks at (5) Wizards (Game 6)
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards (-2.5, 197 o/u)
After a crazy finish to Game 5 on Wednesday, the Atlanta Hawks (60-22, 25-16 Away) look to close their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Washington Wizards (46-36, 29-12 Home) tonight when they meet at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. (7:00 PM Eastern Time).
The Hawks didn’t play their best last Wednesday – continuing a concerning playoff trend for the No. 1 seed in the East – but a late bucket by Al Horford gave them an 82-81 win and a 3-2 series lead. (Betting-wise, the Wizards easily covered as eight-point dogs.)
Horford had seven of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and he also recorded 11 rebounds. His teammates praised the three-time All-Star’s play at both ends of the floor.
“Al is a stabilizing force,” Hawks guard Kyle Korver said to the press after the game. “He is calm and collected and thoughtful, but yet intense on the basketball court.”
After several lead changes late in the game, Washington looked to have the win wrapped up after Paul Pierce hit a go-ahead jumper with seconds left on the clock. The Wizards then forced the Hawks into a miss on a last second shot, but Horford grabbed the offensive rebound and put in a lay-up to give the Hawks a one-point lead.
The good thing for Washington is that point guard John Wall is back in action despite a fractured left hand. Wall had 15 points and seven assists in his first game back after missing the previous three. He also committed six turnovers, though.
Though the Wizards know they let one slip away in Game 5, Wall remains confident heading into tonight’s do-or-die tilt.
“I just feel we have a great team that has a chance, even though we’re down one [game],” Wall said to the press. “We fell in this position last year against Indiana. We don’t want to end it at home. We want to have an opportunity to come back and try to close it out [in Atlanta].”
In the trends, the Wizards are 6-2 ATS in their last eight following an ATS win, and 12-3-2 ATS in their last 17 overall. The Hawks, meanwhile, are 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win.
Pick: Wizards -2.5.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
