The Other Game 7; 28 Days Left

The Atlanta Hawks advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1999 with a 91-78 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. None of the series' seven games were very close, and the deciding Game 7 held true to form.

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals, and Josh Smith added 21 points and 9 boards in the victory. While the Heat were led by Dwyane Wade who had 31 points on 10-for-25 shooting, and Michael Beasley who added 17 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

After a mostly disappointing series, Johnson finally showed up when the Hawks needed him most. Johnson, the Hawks' top scorer during the regular season, was held under 20 points in five of the first six games by the Heat. It looked like more of the same when he missed his first five shots of the decisive contest. Then, suddenly, he found his range making six three-pointers to lead Atlanta to the second round where they will face King James and his #1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

After a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Atlanta ahead 20-18, the Hawks pulled out to a 49-36 lead at halftime. They might as well have started the celebration right then. There were only 15 lead changes in the seven games, and not one of them came after the first quarter.

Things got ugly late while the Hawks fans chanted "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!"and Miami's Udonis Haslem basically clotheslined the Hawks' Zaza Pachulia who was driving to the basket. The Miami forward was tossed out of the game for a flagrant foul, while Atlanta coach Mike Woodson rushed onto the court to make sure no punches were thrown.

Miami is done, its finale epitomized by Haslem's inglorious exit. He ripped off his jersey on the way to the locker room, and threw it into the crowd before he disappeared down the tunnel. Still, it was quite a comeback season for Wade and the Heat, which bounced back from a dismal 15-67 record last year to make the playoffs as the fifth seed in the East this year.

This was the first Game 7 ever played in Atlanta and the Hawks had not won a Game 7 since 1961, when the franchise was still in St. Louis. A year ago, the Hawks learned the benefits of playing Game 7 at home. After taking the Celtics (who would go on to win the championship) to the limit, Atlanta was blown out in the decisive game 7 at Boston. This time, the Hawks got to play at home, and they doled out the same treatment to Miami.

Peace and Much Love To Ya :)