Atlanta, GA (My Sportsbook) - Joe Johnson drained six of his eight attempts from three-point range, and the
Atlanta Hawks finished off a series filled with blowout wins with a 91-78 drubbing of the
Miami Heat in the deciding Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup.
Johnson finished with 27 points and five steals overall for the Hawks, who won a playoff series for the first time since 1999 and won a best-of-seven playoff series for the first time since 1970. Atlanta will move on to face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who had no trouble sweeping the eighth-seeded Pistons.
Atlanta led by as many as 29 in this game before coasting to the finish in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks had lost their previous six Game 7s, dating back to 1961, when the franchise was located in St. Louis. This was the first Game 7 at home since the team moved to Atlanta, and the hosts made sure the fans enjoyed the experience.
Josh Smith contributed 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Hawks ensured that none of the seven games in this series would be decided by a single-digit margin. This was only the second time that feat was ever accomplished in a series, as the Lakers defeated the Suns in seven games in 1970 while the average margin of victory was 16.6 points.
The series featured just 15 lead changes altogether, including zero after the first quarter in each of the final three contests.
Dwyane Wade was unable to muster the magic that helped him will the Heat to a Game 6 win with 41 points, scoring 31 for the Heat on 10-of-25 shooting Sunday. He was not very accurate from three-point range either, making 2- of-9. Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 13 rebounds before being ejected with 3:51 left after committing a flagrant-two foul on Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia. Michael Beasley had 17 points in the loss.
The Heat had never played a Game 7 on the road in their history. They fell behind by 13 at halftime and never got closer than 10 the rest of the game. The team shot just 41.3 percent from the field and went 4-of-19 from beyond the arc.
