Heat 98 Hawks 72

Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	83.1	0.87	41.8	15.1	25.5	19.3
MIA	83.1	1.18	52	28.4	33.3	14.4

The meat of my recap appears in the Daily Dime (#6) but I have a few leftover bullets that didn't work/fit in my allotted space there...

• Solomon Jones did a fine job on the offensive glass but through a combination of lack of ability and lack of experience could not come close to matching Al Horford's defensive presence. Not that Jones should anywhere near the top of the list when assigning blame for that defensive meltdown.
• Mike Bibby's name would be higher on the list of defensive liabilities. Have you ever seen a guy squander the value and goodwill generated by a 20 point half so quickly and thoroughly?
• A partial list of things Josh Smith seems to think should not be called fouls on him: running into a player who has secured a rebound, running into the dribbler in the backcourt, wrapping your arms around a post player while laying your torso onto his back. One thing Josh Smith definitely thinks deserves a foul call on the opposition: having small hands and losing control of the ball on the way up.
• While it's no great surprise that Joel Anthony outplayed Solomon Jones, the Hawks will struggle in Game 7 should Anthony again thoroughly outplay Zaza Pachulia.
• Michael Beasley's breakout game? Full credit for the 15 rebounds but the 22 points on 25 shots, many of them quick, missed jump shots left me less impressed much as I can't understand why Beasley chooses not to pump fake before every drive. Seriously, how many times have you witnessed a Hawk defender stay on his feet in this series?

Mike Woodson:

"This is a good position to be in. I’d rather be playing at Philips Arena in front our fans than coming back here for Game 7. That’s what we worked our butts for all season. And now we’ve got to go out and make it happen."

More Woodson:

"I can't explain it. [Miami] did what they had to do, and we were just there."

Flip Murray:

"We lost our composure, no doubt. Thing weren’t going our way, calls weren’t going our way and we lost. We let them build that big lead, and it got to us. We were never in sync defensively, and we just didn’t handle ourselves well."

Fairly and well put, admirable even, to speak so honestly in the wake of serious disappointment and failure.

Almost 28-year-old Joe Johnson:

"I just think it’s two young teams that feed off the energy of the crowds."

Mike Bibby:

"Maybe we came out with too much energy, too much excitement."

That did not appear to be the problem.

John Hollinger:

Atlanta's injury at center seemed to affect them much more than Miami's, and not only because the young Horford has been an emotional rock who might have helped settle them down. Replacement starter Solomon Jones's inability to punish the Heat offensively permitted them to send swarms of defenders at Joe Johnson, and Anthony especially did this with unusual zeal. Often pushed out near halfcourt by aggressive Miami double-teams, Johnson never was able to find an outlet that could set up an easy score nor get free for clean looks of his own.

Jeff Schulz:

With a chance to clinch their first playoff series in 10 years, they instead reminded everybody why it has been 10 years.

They lost 98-72. That’s really only an assumption because most people stopped paying in the third quarter.

“I didn’t have a good game, and a lot players on the team didn’t have a good game,” said Josh Smith. If nothing else, he gets points for his ability to summarize. (And there is nothing else: He was 3-for-13 for eight points.)

Kevin Pelton, Basketball Prospectus:

For Maurice Evans and Zaza Pachulia to have clunkers is not surprising; they’re being asked to do way more than usual because of the Hawks’ injuries. Atlanta could have used a good game from Josh Smith. Nope; he shot 3-of-13 and did not make anything other than a layup all night.