The Atlanta Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference finals after beating the Washington Wizards 94-91 in Game 6 of their series Friday, but the win did not come without controversy.
The Hawks led most of the fourth quarter save for a two-minute stretch towards the end when the Wizards took the lead, and they were up 94-91 with six seconds left when Washington got the ball. The Wizards gave it to Paul Pierce who has been clutch all playoffs, and he made a 3-pointer in traffic right at the buzzer.
Though referees initially said the basket counted and tied the game to send it to overtime, they waved it off upon review after seeing that the ball was still in Pierce’s hands when time expired:
Pierce just couldn’t believe that the basket didn’t count.
GIF: Paul Pierce is stunned pic.twitter.com/VfFDhM6fKQ
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) May 16, 2015
The officials made the correct call, but it was such a downer to see that taken away after the Wizards were initially given credit for it.
