They say that the Atlanta Hawks do not have a superstar. In Game 5, Al Horford was the superstar they needed. 23 points on 10-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, and five, count 'em five blocks. The last bucket? The last bucket was the most important of the night.
But first, after Paul Pierce had the ball stripped, leading to a transition go-ahead bucket, he was livid in the huddle, so mad, he left his teammates hanging.
I joked that Pierce was so mad he would then turn around and hit the dagger.
So about that...
Pierce was pretty sure that was it.
After Paul Pierce hit go-ahead 3-pointer, he looked at Hawks bench and said "Series."
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) May 14, 2015
But the Hawks had a chance. They missed. Except, Horford, in the biggest moment of the game and maybe the Hawks' season, he stepped up:
A monstrous game and a huge moment for the Hawks' best player. Atlanta's attempts at playing team-centric ball had been stifled by the Wizards' defense. They needed someone to step up and have a huge game, Horford did, and the Hawks take a 3-2 lead.
