THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY AUG. 4, 2020
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2009
SPORTS
9B
NBA
the three
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Joe Johnson's long threes help Atlanta get to next round
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
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Pressed Press
ATLANTA — Joe Johnson was tired of all the double- and triple-teaming. So he put up a shot before Miami could get an extra defender on him.
Swish.
From about 30 feet away.
After a mostly disappointing series, Johnson finally showed up when the Hawks needed him most, making six 3-pointers and scoring 27 points to lead Atlanta into the second round of the playoffs with a 91-78 victory over Dwyane Wade and the Heat in Game 7 Sunday.
Atlanta got past the first round for the first time since 1999. Their reward? A matchup with LeBron James and the top-seeded Cavaliers, beginning Tuesday night in Cleveland.
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. First, a 3-pointer from just outside the line. Then, on Atlanta's next possession, he pulled up near the tip of the winged logo at center court—a good 7 to 8 short of the arc—and launched another one. Nothing but net, even after he got a bit of a hip check from a startled Wade, who looked off toward the stands in disbelief after the ball went through.
"I was just trying to be more
aggressive" Johnson said. "I haven't put up a three that long in a while. I said, 'Forget it,' and just launched it. Making that got me into a little rhythm."
He finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, leading the Hawks to the final blowout in a series that was totally devoid of any drama. Every game was decided by at least 10 points
"When Joe is hitting 40-foot 3s," Wade said, "it's one of those nights."
After a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Atlanta ahead 20-18, the Hawks pulled out to a 49-36 lead by
"I haven't put up a three that long in a while. I said, 'Forget it,' and just launched it."
JOE JOHNSON Atlanta Hawks guard
halftime. They might as well have started the celebration right then. There were only 15 lead changes in seven games—not one of them after the opening period.
were thrown.
The Hawks turned the contest into a laugher in the final quarter. Flip Murray hit a 3-pointer to give Atlanta its biggest lead, 85-66, and both teams cleared their benches in the closing minutes.
The Hawks will need everyone for the Cavaliers, who have lost only two games at home all season.
Things got ugly late while the Hawks fans chanted "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" Zaza Pachulia, who provided more quality minutes off the bench, drove to the hoop and was collared around the neck by Udonis Haslem. The Miami forward was tossed out of the game for a flagrant foul, while Atlanta coach Mike Woodson charged onto the court to make sure no punches
Miami is done, its finite epitomized by Haslem's inglorious exit. He ripped off his jersey on the way to the locker room, throwing 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 to make the playoffs as the fifth seed in the East.
"I'm very encouraged by this season," said Wade, who scored 31 points. "The team that won 15
games last year came back to win 43 games this year and took Atlanta to seven games in the playoffs. We've got something to build on."
Instead, it's the Hawks moving on. Red and silver streamers fell from the roof of Philips Arena as the horn sounded, celebrating the team's first playoff series win since a five-game triumph over Detroit in 1999. That team was swept by New York in the next round and then drifted into irrelevance, enduring
nine straight losing seasons before this year's 47-35 mark was good enough for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson, with the ball, works to get around Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade in the first quarter of Game 7 on Sunday. Johnston hit 6-of-8 three-pointers, including two more than 40-feet from the basket, to score a game-high 27 points. Atlanta eliminated Miami from the playoffs, 91-78.
Wade scored 31 points but the majority of those came after the Hawks had already built a comfortable lead. Bothered by back spasms throughout the series, he didn't have enough help from his young teammates to get through to a matchup against James in the second round.
A year ago, the Hawks learned the benefits of playing Game 7 at home. After taking the eventual NBA champion Celtics to the limit, Atlanta was blown out in the decisive game at Boston. This time, the Hawks got to play at home, and they doled out the
same treatment to Miami.
Mike Bibby might have been the Hawks most valuable player in the series. He averaged just under 15 points and 5 assists in the seven games. He even stood up to Woodson when the coach complained about Josh Smith (21 points) putting up an errant 3-pointer from the corner.
When Woodson called his point guard over, Bibby shot back with an expletive. "Y'all tell him to move,"
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bibby growled. Woodson simply turned away, rubbing his goatee and smiling slightly.
This was the first Game 7 ever played in Atlanta. As if that wasn't unusual enough, the Hawks had not won a Game 7 since 1961—when the franchise was still in St. Louis.
NBA
"It feel like the monkey's off Atlanta's back," Smith said. "Not just the team's back. The whole city."
Nuggets swarm Mavericks, cruise to 14-point victory
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, front, looks for room to shoot as Denver Nuggets forward Nene defends during the first quarter of Game 1 on Sunday. Denver took a 1-0 series lead thanks in large part to Nene's career playoff high 24 points.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Denver rides 14-game home court winning streak into Game 2
BY ARNIE STAPLETON Associated Press
Associated Press
Nene scored 18 of his career playoff high 24 points in the first half and the Denver Nuggets raced past the Dallas Mavericks 109-95 Sunday in the first day game in the Pepsi Center's 10-year history.
DENVER — Nene kept Denver in it until his teammates could turn this one into another runaway.
Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, including a dunk off J.R.
smiths became the-back assist that rocked the arena in the closing minutes. Smith added 15 points, leading a bench that outscored Dallas' celebrated reserves 38-24 before both teams emptied their benches in the
meaningless final minutes.
nine early, looked like they were going to pull away late in the third period when their defense led to several fastbreak baskets and an 81-72 lead.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets have won 14 straight, including four in the playoffs. All four have been blowouts.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and 10 boards and Josh Howard, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each scored 15.
But Antoine Wright's 26-foot 3-pointer to beat the shot clock jump-started the Mavericks, who pulled to 82-80 in the first minute of the fourth quarter when Terry sank a 3 and Nowitzki swished one of his fadeaway jumpers.
The Nuggets responded with a 15-4 run that ice it.
The first half was the rough and tumble both teams expected. Dirk Nowitzki was thrown to the floor by Kenyon Martin in the first quarter.
It began with two free throws and a bucket from Chris Andersen
The Nuggets, who trailed by
and two fouls shots and a jumper from Anthony that make it 90-82.
From there on, it was the brand of basketball the Nuggets have been playing all season, with Chauncey Billups
leading the way at both ends of the floor, blocked shots leading to fastbreak baskets and 3-pointers that broke the Mavericks' spirit.
The first half was the rough and tumble both teams expected. Nowitzki, who scored 13 of the Mavericks' first 17 points, was thrown to the floor by Kenyon Martin in the first quarter.
fouls whistled, two of them on Anthony, who took a seat midway through the second quarter after picking up his third foul.
There were also some touch
The Nuggets did just fine without him, taking a 51-47 halftime lead thanks to Nene's 18 first-half points, which tied his career playoff high for an entire game.
Howard, who missed two 11-game stretches this season with a bum left ankle and probably needs surgery, turned his right ankle in the second quarter when he got tangled up with Billups. He went to the locker room but returned to action before halftime.
Howard thought he had hit a running hook at the buzzer and he trotted up the tunnel in jubilation only to hear the arena announcer gleefully report the shot was being waived off.
Nene, whose career has been dogged by serious injuries and testicular cancer, played more minutes than ever this season and over the last month he really hit a wall. In the Nuggets' five-game dispatch of New Orleans in the first round, he averaged 9.0 points and 7.8 rebounds.
His fantastic first half saved the Nuggets, who got a combined seven points from Anthony and Billups.
MLB
with eight runs, three doubles and 13 RBIs.
Luis Hernandez fills in for injured Royals shortstop
MINNEAPOLIS — Kansas City placed Tony Pena Jr. on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with a fractured bone in his left hand.
To fill Pena's spot, the Royals promoted infelder Luis Hernandez from Triple-A Omaha
Pena fractured his left hamate bone Saturday against Minnesota, but remained in the game.
"He's been hitting pretty good," Royals manager Trey Hillman said before Sunday's game against the Twins. "From my understanding, he's been playing well. He gives us another switch hitter, which never hurts. He's got a little bit of experience."
Hernandez hit .292 in 20 games this season for Omaha,
Hernandez was a non-roster invite to spring training after spending the last two seasons in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He played 66 games in the majors with the Orioles in 2007-08.
Associated Press
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