ATLANTA -- This time, the Atlanta Hawks didn't wilt in the fourth quarter, and their second-round playoff series against the Wizards is going to Washington with each team owning a victory.

Forward DeMarre Carroll led five Atlanta double-figure scorers with 22 points, and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference used an 11-2 run midway through the final quarter to pull away for a 106-90 victory Tuesday night.

Carroll scored at least 20 points for the sixth consecutive game, but he wasn't talking about offense afterward.

The Wizards, playing without guard John Wall (wrist), scored just 15 points in the fourth quarter -- the same total that led to the Hawks' demise in Game 1.

"Defense was the difference," Carroll said. "Our offense will come. It is defense that gets us going, and the intensity was a lot better."

Washington, which rallied for a 104-98 victory in the opener Sunday, started Ramon Sessions in place of Wall, and he scored a team-high 21 points. The Wizards, though, led only at 7-6 and lost for the first time in the playoffs after sweeping Toronto in the first round.

"Sess came in and did great," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "You couldn't ask more of him. ... Now, we've got to have some other guys step up."

Forward Paul Millsap and center Al Horford each scored 18 points for the Hawks, with Millsap also grabbing 11 rebounds. On 37 baskets, Atlanta had 30 assists, with the frontcourt contributing half of them.

Game 3 in Washington isn't until Saturday, giving Wall -- hurt in Game 1 -- extra time to heal. The Hawks, though, also could benefit after not finishing off their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets until last Friday.

Wall had X-rays of his left wrist that were negative, and the NBA All-Star insisted the past few days he would be ready for Game 2. Wittman also indicated Wall was going to play, calling him "one of the toughest guys I've been around."

Instead, Wall was a late scratch.

Wall averaged 17.6 points and 10 assists during the regular season, and he is contributing 17.4 points and 12.6 assists in the playoffs.

"The swelling was too much for him to handle," Wittman said. "We'll evaluate him day to day and see how it goes."

Guard Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards, while forwards Paul Pierce and Otto Porter scored 15 points each. Center Marcin Gortat fouled out in the fourth quarter with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Wizards went to the foul line just 14 times, making eight. The Hawks were 22 of 25.

"Part of being aggressive and part of attacking is getting to the free-throw line," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It's something that we emphasize all year on both ends. It's important for us to play without fouling."

Down by 10 points in the second quarter, the Wizards battled back for a tie on a 3-pointer by Porter with two minutes left in the third. The Hawks, though, scored the final five points of the quarter for a 80-75 lead and dominated the final period, with Horford scoring eight of their 26 points.

Sessions scored the Wizards' first 10 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-point baskets, and forward Kent Bazemore gave the Hawks a lift with two 3-pointers.

Atlanta got 27 points off the bench, with Bazemore scoring 10, guard Dennis Schroder nine and center Pero Antic eight.

Like the Hawks had in Game 1, they jumped out early on the Wizards, taking a 28-20 first-quarter lead on 52.2 percent shooting.

Atlanta was up 41-31 midway in the second quarter and led 53-46 at halftime. The Wizards stayed in striking distance by going 6-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc.

Washington finished 12-for-22 from behind the arc but still lost by 16 points.

"Sessions stepped in and played great, and they shot very well," Hawks forward Kyle Korver said. "But we still had enough to win. Every game is going to be a grind. Nothing comes easy in the playoffs."

Defense wins, and Budenholzer wants even more of a full-time effort.

"The way we started defensively with a 20-point first quarter and then finishing with a 15-point defensive fourth quarter, if we can get to playing more 48 minutes with that intensity, that's what we're looking for," the coach said.

NOTES: Wizards G John Wall was on the bench in street clothes after injuring his left wrist during a second-quarter fall in Game 1. He returned to the opener after the fall, contributing 18 points and 12 assists. ... Washington G Bradley Beal played 43 minutes despite spraining his right ankle in the opener. ... Atlanta went 35-6 at home during the regular season and is 4-1 at home in the postseason. ... The Hawks haven't won a second-round playoff series since moving to Atlanta in the late 1960s, going 0-13. The franchise last advanced past the second round in 1958 while winning its only NBA title in St. Louis. ... The Hawks won three of the four regular-season meetings. The Wizards' only victory came when Atlanta rested its starters at Washington on April 12.