The Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Hornets to win their series and set a date with the Dallas Mavericks in the next round, while Joe Johnson scored 25 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks over the Miami Heat.

Eastern Conference:

Miami Heat 91 - Atlanta Hawks 106

Atlanta leads series 3-2

• With an average of only 13.8 points per game over the series, we all knew Joe Johnson was bound to turn it up soon. And I was pretty confident that he’d power his team to a win with a high-scoring game at least once. Johnson scored 25 points to lead the Hawks to a victory over the Miami Heat. Mike Bibby added 17 points, and Josh Smith added 20. Flip Murray also had a nice performance off the bench, with 23 points.
• Miami’s Dwyane Wade was hurting in this game, but he still managed a good game (29 points on 9-19 shooting). He did not have many of the usual other stats that he brings to the table though, finishing with only 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Jermaine O’Neal added 14 points, and Michael Beasley had 18 points off the bench for the Heat.
• The Heat can only hope that Wade is fully healthy for the next game, so they can force a game 7 at Atlanta. Nevertheless, this is still a team sport, and Wade’s teammates have to step it up even more. O’Neal finished with only 3 rebound (the Heat were -8 in rebounds). The Hawks’ top scorers didn’t finish with great percentages (Smith had 6-19, and Johnson had 6-15) though, so their defense might be doing something right, if only they don’t let the others get theirs (Bibby shot 6-9, and Murray had 9-15). I can’t wait for another Wade-Johnson duel though, so hopefully the next game will have Wade healthy and gunning.

*****

Western Conference:

New Orleans Hornets 86 - Denver Nuggets 107

Denver wins series 4-1

• The Denver Nuggets won their first playoff series since 1994, and Carmelo Anthony’s first taste of the second round after five straight seasons of being eliminated in the first round. Anthony had a career playoff-high 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, and hometown boy Chauncey Billups had 13 points and 11 assists. The Nuggets also had a strong game from J.R. Smith off the bench, who had previously been pretty quiet in the series. Smith had 20 points (5 three-pointers).
• New Orleans guard Chris Paul had 12 points (only 5-16 shooting), 6 rebounds, and 10 assists, and forward David West had 24 points and 9 rebounds. James Posey added 18 points off the bench for the Hornets.
• After being tied at halftime, the Nuggets exploded in the 3rd period, outscoring the Hornets 31-17 (the finished the quarter on a 24-4 run), and never letting up.
• Melo, Chauncey and the Nuggets will now face Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. The Mavs won’t be as easily disposed of as the Hornets (who lost by an average of 37.5 points to the Nuggets), as they are all healthy, and more importantly, are rolling at the right time. On the other hand, the Mavs also face a much different team from the Spurs that they beat in the eliminations. The Nuggets aren’t limited to a Big 2, and can run more than the aging Spurs.

Notes:

• The Orlando Magic’s center Dwight Howard has been suspended for Game 6 of the series versus the Philadelphia 76ers for throwing an elbow that hit Sixers center Samuel Dalembert above the shoulders. With Courtney Lee likely out as well, the Magic will be deploying a depleted lineup. Marcin Gortat, who has showed in limited minutes some signs of brilliance, will be counted upon to complement the remaining stars of the Magic. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu’s shooting strokes better be in form for this one. If the Magic can’t eliminate the Sixers in this one, then game 7 will be waiting for them at home.