April 28, 2009 (Part 1); Hawks finally won a road playoff game

The road is now clear for the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks finally overcame the hump as they won their first road playoff game in nearly 12 years, beating the Miami Heat, 81-71, to tie up their series at 2-2.

Zaza Pachulia, played a vital role for the Hawks, scoring 12 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. He, along his teammates, frustrated Dwyane Wade, who is wincing from a back injury.

Five other Hawk players scored bigtime, led by Mike Bibby who finished with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Joe Johnson had 14 points and 5 assists. High-flyer Josh Smith produced 13 points and 7 rebounds. Flip Murray contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds, while Maurice Evans poured in 10 points and 2 rebounds.

The Heat were led by their MVP candidate Wade with 22 points, on just 9/26 from the field, credit that to the defense shown by the Hawks. He also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Jermaine O'Neal had 20 points and 6 rebounds, while James Jones had 19 points, 10 of which came from the first-half surge made by the Heat, but to no avail.

Michael Beasley, this year's second overall draft pick, was the weak link for today's game, scoring just a solitary basket on 11 minutes of playing time. Given a good game from this guy, the Heat would have the commanding 3-1 series advantage.

Game 5 of this series will be played on Thursday, April 30 at 10:00 AM, from Atlanta.

Game 4
Atlanta 81
Miami 71
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, Florida
ATL: Mike Bibby- 15 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls.
MIA: Dwyane Wade- 22 pts. 6 rebs, 7 assts.
Series tied 2-2
Game 5 on Thursday, April 30 at 10:00 AM from the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

More news to come so just stick around!

The Wizard was here... :)