Al Horford: 'Atlanta Hawks were tired'

Al Horford has admitted that the Atlanta Hawks may have been tired in the first game of their Eastern Conference semi-final playoff series against the Washington Wizards.

The top seeds were ahead early on, but they struggled in the fourth, slipping to a 104-98 defeat at the Philips Arena.

The center told ESPN: "Our pace was better in the first half. Maybe in the second half, we were just tired or whatever.

"I had a couple of tips that just came out. I couldn't believe it. I think that was the key point of the game."

The Hawks needed two more games against the Brooklyn Nets than the Wizards played in their 4-0 win over the Toronto Raptors in the first round.