Beal, Wall lead Wizards past Hawks; Celtics top Bulls for 3-2 lead

WASHINGTON - Back at home, and back in charge, Bradley Beal scored 27 points, and John Wall added 20 points and 14 assists, leading the Washington Wizards to a 103-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night for a 3-2 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 29 points, making a career high-tying five 3s, and 11 assists. But after his basket from beyond the arc pulled Atlanta within 101-99 with 70 seconds left, Wall responded with a 21-foot pull-up jumper.

A miss followed from Paul Millsap, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, but after Wall’s jumper was off the mark, the Hawks seemed to waste too much time at the other end and the buzzer sounded. The host has won every game in this series so far. Washington can close out the best-of-seven series and move into the conference semifinals by winning Game 6 at Atlanta on Friday night.

The Wizards won 30 games at home during the regular season, the second-most in the East, and they have now collected six consecutive first-round home playoff games.

At Celtics 108, Bulls 97: Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley scored 24 points apiece to help Boston beat Chicago and take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

After the road team won each of the first four games, the Celtics won at home in Game 5 to earn a chance to eliminate the Bulls on Friday night in Chicago. A Bulls victory would force the series back to Boston for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Dwyane Wade had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Chicago.

But Wade and Robin Lopez were called for technical fouls 32 seconds apart with just under five minutes left, helping the Celtics to a 20-5 run that turned an 84-84 game into a 15-point Boston lead.

The Bulls cut it to nine before Al Horford got loose for a dunk, Wade missed a 3-pointer and then Horford fed Jae Crowder for a layup that made it 108-95 with 99 seconds to play.

Late Tuesday

Jazz 96, at Clippers 92: Gordon Hayward scored 27 points, Utah controlled the paint, and the Jazz beat Los Angeles to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Hayward returned after missing most of Utah’s win in Game 4 because of food poisoning that caused him to lose weight and energy.

Chris Paul’s 3-pointer drew the Clippers within two with 5 seconds left. After George Hill hit two free throws, Paul struggled getting the ball under control near the sideline and couldn’t do anything as time expired.

The Jazz made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including three by Rodney Hood, who finished with 16 points. Paul led the Clippers with 28 points. — Wire services