HAWKS THUMP HEAT TO TAKE 3-2 SERIES LEAD

The Atlanta Hawks used a star performance from Joe Johnson and their strong home court to defeat the Miami Heat 106-91 Wednesday night at the Phillips Arena.  Every game in the series has been won by double digits, with each team taking a turn winning on their opponent’s home court.  Game six will be back in South Florida on Friday night, with the Heat needing a win to stave off elimination.

Atlanta led by only four points after the first quarter, but turned it on in the second quarter during which they outscored Miami 39-20 to take a 63-40 advantage into the locker room at halftime.  They were never really challenged after that.  It was the Hawks fifth win in their last six playoff games.  Atlanta was led by 25 points from Joe Johnson, with Ronald Murray contributing 23 off the bench.  Josh Smith added 20, Mike Bibby 17 and Maurice Evans 10.

As usual, the Heat was led by Dwayne Wade who scored 29 points despite struggling with back spasms.  Reserve Michael Beasley chipped in for 18 off the bench, Jermaine O’Neal scored 14 and Udonis Haslem added 11.   The series is quickly becoming a ‘war of attrition’—in addition his already ailing back, Wade took a hard shot to the head in the first quarter.  Atlanta, meanwhile, is already without one starter (Marvin Williams) and may have lost another when Al Horford limped off the court with a sprained ankle in the first half.  Hawks backup center Zaza Pachulia was philosophical about his team’s mounting body count:

"It's not a good sign. In the playoffs, you need everybody. But what can you do? Whoever we have, they really have to step up."

For his part, Horford expressed some optimism that he’d be able to answer the bell for game six:

"I'm a little sore, but we did a lot of treatment in the second half. That's what the playoffs are all about. We're playing hard out there."

With a fair amount of animosity already present between the two teams, game five could have increased the ‘bad blood’.  Miami felt that Atlanta’s showboating antics late in the game when they were up by 20+ were disrespectful.   In particular, a missed between the legs windmill dunk by Josh Smith raised the ire of Miami’s players including Dwayne Wade:

“We were very insulted by it.”

Added Heat coach Erik Spoelstra:

"There at the end it turned into a highlight show. A pickup game highlight reel, really trying to embarrass us. Now we've played five games against each other. I don't think anybody on either side likes each other anymore."

Of course the best way for the Heat to prevent late game showboat antics is to not fall behind by twenty-plus points in the first place. Should Miami win Friday’s game six, the series will be decided in game 7 to be held Sunday at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena.