Wade scores 33, Heat rebound to beat Hawks 108-93

[April 23, 2009]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Remember how bad Dwyane Wade and his Miami teammates looked in Game 1 of the playoffs? They were that good in Game 2.

Wade scored 33 points, 13 straight to close the first half before he banked in a 3-pointer with 2 1/2 minutes left to finish off the Atlanta Hawks in a 108-93 victory Wednesday night that evened the series before it headed to south Florida.

After scoring only 19 points to open the best-of-seven series Sunday in a 90-64 blowout, Wade eclipsed his point total by halftime.

"He set the tone," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Before I came out to talk to the team, right before the game, there was some joking and laughing in the locker room and I heard him tell everybody to shut up and get their minds on the game."

The Hawks should have known this wouldn't be their night when "Spirit," an actual hawk that flies down from the rafters during the pre-game introductions, decided to hang around for the start of the game. The game had to be halted for a couple of minutes when the fierce-looking bird landed on the top of the backboard; he finally flew to his handler and was led out of the building.

Turns out, the real hawk showed more aggressiveness than any of the players wearing Hawks across the front of their jerseys until the fourth quarter, when Atlanta finally came to life.

After trailing by as many as 18, the home team twice closed within five points -- but never got over the hump. Wade delivered the decisive blow when, with the shot clock running down, he threw up a long 3. The shot was errant, but it banked in off the backboard and was just as good as a swish.

Wade's shot pushed the Heat to a 101-91 lead, and the Hawks were done.

The crowd started heading for the exits, except for a handful of Miami fans who hung around to serenade Wade with chants of "M-V-3!" When the horn sounded, Wade went over and shook hands with Atlanta rap star T.I., sitting at courtside as he waits to begin his yearlong sentence for weapons charges.

Unlike the loss in Game 1, when only one other Miami player scored in double figures, Wade had plenty of help this time. Daequan Cook scored 20 points, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range to make up for an 0-for-5 showing beyond the arc on Sunday night. Jermaine O'Neal scored 19 points, giving the Heat a presence on the inside. Michael Beasley added 12 and Udonis Haslem 10.

Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 18 points, but the home team shot only 44 percent from the field and struggled at the foul line, making 19-of-30.

Game 3 is Saturday in Miami.

The Hawks, who made home-court advantage their No. 1 goal coming into the season, will now have to do something they couldn't do a year ago: win a playoff game on the road. Atlanta surprised eventual champion Boston by extending the Celtics to seven games but lost four blowouts in Beantown.

If that trends continues, the Heat will be moving on to the second round.

Led by Wade, Miami began to pull away in the second quarter. He capped his 13-point spurt with three straight 3-pointers, giving him 21 points -- more than he had in all of Game 1 -- heading to the locker room.

The Hawks tried to guard the Miami star with several players. None had much success.

Joe Johnson picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and had to sit the rest of the period. Flip Murray might as well have thrown up a white towel. Maurice Evans wasn't much better, shaking his head in disbelief at one point when Wade swished another jumper.

Led by high-flying Josh Smith, Atlanta ran the Heat out of the building in Game 1. The Heat was held to a season low for points as the Hawks equaled a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game.

But, after two exhaustive days of practices, meetings and film sessions, Miami looked like a much different team. The Heat played with much more effort, started hitting some shots and established a half-court game that worked much better than trying to run with the Hawks.

They frustrated Smith, who had a couple of dunks but was held to 17 points. They held Johnson, Atlanta's leading scorer, to 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Miami was on the verge of a blowout, but the Hawks closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run. Murray had a steal and layup, then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after a nifty bit of passing left him open outside the arc.

The arena was in a frenzy when Hawks closed to 94-89 on Murray's three-point play, and Smith scored on a drive to make it 96-91. After Haslem hit a jumper to push the lead back to seven, the Hawks came up empty on three straight possessions.

Finally, Wade had seen enough. His ricochet 3 ended any thoughts of a comeback.

Notes: Both teams stuck with the same lineups and 12-man rosters they used in Game 1. Randolph Morris, Thomas Gardner and the injured Acie Law sat out for the Hawks, while Miami deactivated Mark Blount, Luther Head and Dorell Wright. ... The crowd of 19,146 was Atlanta's fifth straight playoff sellout at Philips Arena and 14th full house of the season. ... Wade's career playoff high is 43 points.

[Associated Press; By PAUL NEWBERRY]

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