With their Game 4 win last night, the Atlanta Hawks went from looking like a No. 4 or 5 seed for these playoffs, to looking more like the No. 1 seed they earned during the regular season.

Jeff Teague scored 26 points, Paul Millsap added 19 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Al Horford had 18 points and 10 rebounds as three of Atlanta’s four All-Stars played significant roles to help the Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 106-101 on Monday night, and evened their second-round series at two games apiece.

The Hawks played with more purpose and got back to their game which led them to their Eastern Conference leading 60-22 record. The ball movement was back, the passes were crisp, they were moving and making precise cuts, and they were finding the open man. The passion and the hunger returned.  At one point, the Hawks had a 16-0 edge in the paint. They were also able to build a 14 point lead in the second quarter, and had a stretch where they scored on seven consecutive possessions. “To me, personally, I think this is the best we’ve played all series. Thirty assists, the way we played defense, the way we stepped up, the way we helped each other, the way we moved the basketball, the way we set screens,” said Paul Millsap.

Washington’s All-Star and emerging superstar, John Wall was sidelined for the third consecutive game with a broken left hand. Even without Wall, the Wizards still had a chance to tie the game with about 9.5 seconds left with a 3 pointer. As he did in game 3, coach Randy Whittman went with a play going to Paul Pierce, who hit the game winner in Game 3. This time, Pierce came off of a screen towards the right side of the floor, and DeMarre Carroll got caught on a screen and fell down. Pierce, hesitated for a split second and took the wide open 3, but this time, the ball was a little long and hit the back of the rim. Atlanta grabbed the rebound and put the game away at the free throw line.

Pierce, who scored 22 points for the Wizards had this to say about his three-point attempt, “Thought I got a great look.” Bradley Beal, who scored a career playoff-high 34 points for the Wizards said, “I thought it was going in. … That open one’s always the hardest one to make. It was a great opportunity for us to go up 3-1. We won one game without John. We can do it again.”

With the series tied 2-2, the scene shifts back to Atlanta for the all important Game 5, which will be Wednesday evening at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.