The NBA playoffs are into the conference finals and the Atlanta Hawks have advanced against the Cleveland Cavaliers after winning over the Washington Wizards, while in the western conference the Golden State Warriors won over the Memphis Grizzlies to advance and they will play against the Los Angeles Clippers or Houston Rockets.
The Hawks beat the Wizards in 6 games to advance, winning the series 4-2 to get to the eastern conference finals for the first time in decades. Atlanta held off a comeback from the Wizards and they advance as the number one seed in the east, which means they have home court advantage in the series. The team will host the Cavaliers on May 20 for the first game and now the playoffs have the number one and number two seeds matching up.
The Cavaliers won over the Chicago Bulls in six games, taking things 4-2 after LeBron James pushed the Cavs back from a 0-1 deficit. James hit the winning shot in Game 5 and he had 11 assists in a blowout Game 6 win and now the Cavaliers are into the East finals. James took the Cavaliers to the NBA finals in his first run with the team and now they are back and will play against the Hawks.
The Wizards won a stunner earlier in the series with a shot from Paul Pierce and he tried to do that again on Friday, but he was a half second too late. The Hawks were leading the game with four minutes left, but John Wall led the Wizards back and in the last minute they took a lead. That was short-lived, as the Hawks were able to take it back and despite getting outscored in the fourth by Washington, Atlanta was able to win.
The final seconds of the game were frantic, as Pierce hit a shot at the end to tie the game, but the replay showed that the buzzer rang with Pierce's hand still on the ball. Bradley Beal had 29 points and Wall added 13 assists and now the Wizards are out of the playoffs. DeMarre Carroll had a solid game with 25 points, while Paul Millsap had 13 rebounds and Jeff Teague led with seven assists. The Hawks won the game 94-91 over the Wizards and now they will face the Cavaliers. The Golden State Warriors won over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 by the score of 108-95 and now they are into the western conference finals.
The Warriors had the best record in the NBA with 67 wins and they will match up against the Rockets or the Clippers. Los Angeles and Houston are playing game 7 and now matter who wins, the Warriors will have home court advantage. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 32 points and 10 assists, while Marc Gasol had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies.