Eastern Conference:

Atlanta 72 - Miami 98

Series tied 3-3

• Dwyane Wade wasn’t about to let the Miami Heat go into the offseason just yet. He scored 41 points (and shot 16-17 from the free throw line) in leading the Heat to a series tie and forcing Game 7 at Atlanta. Michael Beasley added 22 points and 15 rebounds off the bench in combining to be a formidable one-two punch for the Heat. Miami missed the services of Jermaine O’Neal, who was suffering from a concussion, but Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire combined to play some great defense in the Heat’s scheme to lock down Atlanta’s star Joe Johnson.
• Atlanta’s Mike Bibby had 20 points, but the other Hawks were pretty quiet. Joe Johnson, flustered by the Heat defense, only managed 13 points after scoring 25 in the previous game. Flip Murray, whose performance has been key to the Hawks victories, only had 13 points on 4-13 shooting as well. None of the other Hawks reached double figures. Josh Smith only had 7 points on 3-13 shooting, but added 10 rebounds. Al Horford’s presence was missed by the Hawks, as the Heat repeatedly drove for baskets.
• The series that I expected to be really close turned out to be the Boston-Chicago series, and not this one. Each game has been a double-digit win for the victors: Atlanta has won by 26, 10 and 15 points, and Miami has won by 15, 29 and 26 points.
• The presence of Al Horford for Atlanta, and Jermaine O’Neal for Miami, will be something I’ll be looking out for in Game 7. Horford can bolster the Hawks’ defenses, and score a bit as well. On the other hand, two regular backup centers, Anthony and Magloire, were effective on defense for Miami, so it remains to be seen if O’Neal will be used even if he is healthy.
• Aside from Joe Johnsons 25 points effort in Game 5, he has been quiet for this series. I am hoping for a nice duel between him and Wade in the last game, and can we please have a closer game this time around? The blowouts aren’t much fun to watch.