Atlanta Hawks beat Washington Wizards to reach Eastern Conference finals
Last Updated: 19/05/15 5:52pm
Atlanta Hawks advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time with a dramatic 94-91 win over Washington Wizards which sealed a 4-2 series victory.
A dramatic basket on the buzzer from Washington's Paul Pierce, who sank the buzzer-beating winner in game three of the series, looked to have tied the game at 94-94 and he raised his arms in triumph as the home crowd roared.
But it was controversially ruled out, with replays showing he released the ball a fraction of a second after the clock ticked over to zero, and the visitors were sent into pandemonium on the court.
Washington's John Wall, playing with a broken left hand that forced him out of games two, three and four, attacked the rim as if completely healthy and finished with 20 points, 13 assists and six rebounds.
After trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the top-seeded Hawks won three straight games and will now host the Cleveland Caveliers in game one of the conference finals Wednesday.
It is the Hawks' first trip to a conference final since the NBA realigned into conferences in 1970-71. The team had not won two play-off series in a single year since moving to Atlanta for the 1968-69 season.
Also celebrating a breakthrough appearance in the final four of the play-offs was the Golden State Warriors, who beat Memphis Grizzlies 108-95 to reach the Western Conference decider for the first time since 1976.
Golden State's Stephen Curry scored 32 points, including a 62-footer to end the third quarter, as the Warriors won the deciding game six in Tennessee.
The Warriors advanced with some of the best shooting in the NBA post-season since 1985, becoming the first team since that year to hit 14 or more three-pointers in three consecutive playoff games. Curry was 8 of 13 from beyond the arc as the Warriors knocked down a play-off-best 15 three-pointers, closing out Memphis with their third straight win.
Curry, who also had 10 assists, had the shot of the night after Andre Iguodala blocked Jeff Green's shot near midcourt. Curry grabbed the loose ball and beat the buzzer from the Grizzlies' three-point line for a 76-68 lead.
The Warriors will play the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Houston Rockets series,, currently locked 3-3, in the conference finals. The conference finals will start Tuesday at Golden State.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 21 points and 15 rebounds.