ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 22: Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) attempts to call a timeout but Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) tied the ball up for the jump ball call during the Game three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in Atlanta, GA on April 22, 2017. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post) (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

The John Wall playoff highlight reel has yet to disappoint. In three postseason games, Wall has produced enough wow moments to satisfy the entire spring, raising his superstar profile and carrying the Washington Wizards in this opening round. And though it has been wonderful and necessary, though you’d be a fool to want less from him, it’s time to see more from the rest of the Wizards.

As the Wizards opened this best-of-seven series with two home victories over the Atlanta Hawks, Wall’s splendid performance masked some of the uncharacteristic missed shots and spotty play of his teammates. But in Game 3 on Saturday, the Wizards needed one of their trademark balanced offensive outings to counter the Hawks’ energy and hot shooting. The Wizards didn’t have it, though. So they lost, 116-98, at Philips Arena, ruining a chance to push Atlanta to the brink of elimination.

Washington remains in a favorable position, owning a 2-1 series lead, but now the Wizards must find better answers to their problems. In this game, defense was a shortcoming, as it often is with this team. However, there is a larger issue related to this series: Why are the Wizards shooting so many bricks? Specifically, why are they missing so many open looks?

[Wizards stumble from the start, fall in Game 3]

Playoff jitters is no longer an acceptable explanation. We’re three games into the postseason, and the Wizards are still off. They picked a bad time to be slumping.

Wall was again on his game Saturday, making 10 of 12 field goals, scoring 29 points and dishing seven assists. For the series, he is averaging 31 points and 10 assists, and he is shooting 55.4 percent. Marcin Gortat is shooting 60 percent, but the center is only getting 8.3 shots a game. And backup point guard Brandon Jennings has made 8 of his 13 attempts. But the rest of the Wizards who have taken at least 20 shots are practicing masonry.

Otto Porter Jr. is shooting 40 percent. Bradley Beal is at 39.7 percent. Markieff Morris is at 36.1. Kelly Oubre Jr. is at 35, and Bojan Bogdanovic is at 25.

As a team, the Wizards are making just 27.8 percent of their three-pointers through three games, down from 37.2 during the regular season. Remove Wall, who has made 5 of 7 from behind the arc, and the Wizards are shooting 23.6 percent from deep.

[Best and worst from the Wizards’ loss in Game 3]

Yes, the Wizards need to play better defense. Atlanta made 15 of its first 21 shots on Saturday. Paul Millsap had 29 points and 14 rebounds. Dennis Schroder finished with 27 points and nine assists, and rookie Taurean Prince added 16 points on efficient 7-for-10 shooting. You can’t win a playoff game at home guarding that poorly, let alone on the road against an opponent essentially playing for its season. But after watching the Wizards for 85 games, it should be apparent now that defense rarely carries them. This is an offense-centric team. It’s no surprise the Wizards lost a game and concluded they have defensive mistakes to clean up. It’s far more troubling that the thing they do best has been shaky thus far.

“We’re missing wide open shots,” Morris said. “We must have had, like, 30 of them in the first half alone. It seemed like our legs were heavy or something. It was one of those days. We’ll bounce back. I’m not taking nothing away from them, but we’re better than that.”

The Wizards have to be better because, for as fantastic as Wall has been, the team is at its best when everyone eats. Wall is a pass-first point guard. He’d rather distribute. When you see him averaging 31 points in a series, it indicates both that he’s an amazing player and that the Wizards are using his scoring as a crutch. He’s most dangerous, the team is most dangerous, when he scores in the 20-25 range and adds 10-15 assists.

[The Raptors have having a nasty case of deja vu]

During the regular season, Wall scored at least 30 points a dozen times; the Wizards were just 6-6 in those games. In his two highest-scoring games — 52 points against Orlando in December and 41 against the Los Angeles Clippers in March — the Wizards were losers.

On the other hand, they had a 12-3 record when Wall recorded at least 14 assists. Perhaps he would’ve had that many assists in Game 3, but too often, Wall made the meal, set the table and lit the candles, but the Wizards still refused to eat.

Said Morris: “He should’ve had 30 points and 15 assists, at least, in this game.”

Said Wall: “We had a lot of great looks, a lot of missed shots. We have to be better.”

Beal likes to express confidence in his shot by saying, “A miss is a lady.” If that’s so, he has met a lot of women in this series. And they haven’t been nice to him.

“You know what? I like his looks,” Coach Scott Brooks said of Beal. “I’ve been saying it for the last couple of games. I like his shots. He’s just going to have to keep shooting them. We’re going to have to keep getting him open looks like we have. Every player will go through a stretch of games, a few games, where you’re not going to shoot the ball well. He’ll bounce back. The guy’s a big winner, and he’s going to come out and make shots, hopefully next game.”

The Wizards shouldn’t fret right now. For six months, they proved they were one of the NBA’s most efficient offenses. They can’t make too much of three games. They can’t make too much of one loss in which they missed 22 of 29 three-pointers. They should find hope in how well they’re running their offense. Most of the time, they’re getting what they want. They could be more mindful of getting the ball inside and playing more inside-out, but no major offensive adjustments are necessary. They just have to make shots — and not let the misses affect their defense.

“We kind of have to flush the toilet on this game,” forward Jason Smith said. “This was a bad game for us. It was a good game for them.”

The Wizards knew the Hawks would play with desperation in Game 3. They knew to expect an early rush. Still, in building a 25-point lead in the first quarter, the Hawks opened with more ferocity than the Wizards could handle.

So this is a series now, sort of. In Game 4, the Wizards wouldn’t mind seeing Wall race coast to coast and go behind his back for a dunk again. But what they need most is much more routine: A pass to an open shooter, who then sets his feet, flicks his wrist and grins as the net ripples.

For more by Jerry Brewer, visit washingtonpost.com/brewer.