Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith reacts to the fans as he leaves the court after the Hawks defeated the Miami Heat 91-78 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference NBA playoff series on Sunday in Atlanta.
ATLANTA – The final blowout went to Atlanta, so it’s the Hawks who’ll get a shot at LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Joe Johnson scored 27 points to make up for a mostly disappointing series and the Hawks won the first Game 7 ever played in Atlanta, beating Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat 91-78 Sunday to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in a decade.
A series totally devoid of drama ended in appropriate fashion. After a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Atlanta ahead 20-18, the Hawks pulled out to a 49-36 lead by halftime.
They might as well have started the celebration right then. There were only 15 lead changes in seven games – not one of them after the opening period. Every game was decided by at least 10 points, and this one wasn’t nearly as close as the final margin.
Johnson got off to a sluggish start but came alive when the Hawks needed him. His most dramatic shot was a long 3-pointer over Wade from out near Atlanta’s winged logo at center court, which left the Miami star standing there with a look of disbelief.
The Hawks turned the contest into a laugher in the final quarter. Flip Murray hit a 3-pointer to give Atlanta its biggest lead at 85-66, and both teams cleared their benches in the closing minutes as Miami’s reserves outplayed the home team’s substitutions to make the end result somewhat respectable.
Things got ugly in the closing minutes while the Hawks fans chanted “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!” Zaza Pachulia, who provided more quality minutes off the bench, drove to the hoop and was collared around the neck by Udonis Haslem. The Miami forward was tossed out of the game for a flagrant foul, while Atlanta coach Mike Woodson charged onto the court to make sure no punches were thrown.
The Hawks will need everyone for the Cavaliers, the top seed in the playoffs. Game 1 is Tuesday night in Cleveland.
Nuggets win opener
DENVER – Nene kept Denver in it until his teammates could turn this one into another runaway.
Nene scored 18 of his career playoff high 24 points in the first half and the Denver Nuggets raced past the Dallas Mavericks 109-95 in the first day game in the Pepsi Center’s 10-year history.
Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, including a dunk off J.R. Smith’s behind-the-back assist that rocked the arena in the closing minutes. Smith added 15 points, leading a bench that outscored Dallas’ celebrated reserves 38-24 before both teams emptied their benches in the meaningless final minutes.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 boards and Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each scored 15.
Game 2 is Tuesday night.