Hawks flying high again take 3-2 series lead
April 29, 2009 by AtlantaGaToday Staff
Filed under Hawks Blog
Atlanta Hawks dominated the Miami Heat Wednesday night taking a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoffs. Rebounding and bench play once again dictated the winner as the Hawks out rebounded the Heat 37-29.
It was a bruising game as Al Horford fell hard and left the game early after twisting his ankle. Dwayne Wade also fell hard and left the game temporarily after slamming the back of his head on the floor. Jermaine O’Neal went down after taking a left elbow to his face late in the third period.
Dwayne Wade came out on fire after the half scoring 17 points in the third period, but Atlanta was up to the task and answered with a thunderous dunk by Josh Smith and some solid play from Flip Murray who had a series high 23 points. Joe Johnson regained his swagger as he had his best game of the series by far putting down 25 points.
Atlanta Hawks will face a burden in game six at Miami with Marvin Williams out due to a wrist injury and Al Horford likely out with a moderate ankle sprain. Meanwhile, the Heat will have to overcome not only Jermaine O’Neal’s ankle problem and Dwayne Wade’s back spasms, but another humiliating and size-able defeat. The Hawks will be trying to win their first playoff series since 1994.
