Paul Pierce was denied another buzzer-beating three as his Washington Wizards were eliminated from the NBA play-offs by the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The Wizards had an inbound pass with six seconds remaining at Washington's Verizon Center as they trailed 94-91 in game six of the semi-final series and the home side eventually got it to Pierce, who sank a three-pointer from the corner while off balance.

The veteran's stunning shot was ruled out by the match officials after they checked the replays, however, giving the Hawks a 4-2 series victory.

Replays showed Pierce was perhaps a couple of tenths of a second late in releasing the ball.

The 37-year-old had drained a buzzer-beating three to give Washington victory in game three.

Atlanta will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Hawks led by 15 points midway through the third quarter and by as many as 10 early in the fourth, but Bradley Beal and Co. chipped away and took the lead inside the final four minutes.

Atlanta went nearly five minutes without scoring before Paul Millsap finally converted to briefly put the Hawks back on top with 1:47 to play.

The Wizards' cause took a hit when they missed three of four free throws, and Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll made a pair of late lay-ups to give him a team-high 25 points for the game.