April 14th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
This happened to be one of those games where you knew both teams – in this case the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat – had playoff berths secured and had little to play for. Tuesday’s game pitted two teams that had locked up playoff slots and by and large played their bench players for the vast majority of the game at Philips Arena. And truth be told, it seemed more like an preseason game in its execution. But nonetheless, both teams underwhelmed; despite shooting only 42% from the floor, Atlanta managed to squeak out an 81-79 win over Miami.
With Michael Beasley leading the way, the Heat took a 30-20 lead early in the second quarter but would only make two more baskets the rest of the half; the Hawks would go on an 18-2 run, which gave them a 38-34 lead at halftime. A lethargic third quarter found both teams tied at 64; Miami went 4 1/2 minutes before getting their first basket of the period and Atlanta would lead the rest of the quarter, icing the game.
Atlanta only had two players in double-digits, led by Flip Murray with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Marvin Williams added 13 with 4 rebounds and an assist. Miami was led by Beasley with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks while Mario Chalmers added 15 (including three 3-pointers) with 6 assists and 2 steals. Atlanta (47-34) finishes its regular season in preparation for the Eastern Conference playoffs when they play on Wednesday, travelling to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies while Miami (42-39) returns home to host the Detroit Pistons – also on Wednesday night.
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