November 19th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
The Atlanta Hawks have the luxury of being a team that is young and very talented with plenty of upside. When they’re on, they’re very close to being unbeatable. The Hawks brought a 5-game winning streak to Philips Arena as they hosted the Miami Heat Wednesday; and as expected, Joe Johnson played no small part as he drained 30 points, allowing Atlanta to win their sixth straight, thrashing Miami105-90.
Atlanta would take control by outscoring Miami 28-8 over the final 8 minutes of the first half; the Heat would cut its deficit to five late in the third quarter, but the Hawks’ bench helped seal the win as they increased their lead to 91-75, holding the Heat with out a basket until Michael Beasley finally scored with 7:22 left in the game. Atlanta would coast the rest of the way for the win.
Johnson led five Hawks starters in scoring with 30 points (including 5 three-pointers), 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Josh Smith and Al Horford added 16 each – with Smith grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out 7 assists along with 2 steals and 2 blocks while Horford grabbed 12 boards, dishing out 2 assists and blocking a shot. Miami was led by Beasley with 21 points, 9 rebounds and a block while Dwyane Wade added 15 with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.
Atlanta (10-2) plays again on Friday when they continue their home stand, hosting the Houston Rockets while Miami (7-4) travels to the Great White North as they take on the Toronto Raptors – also on Friday night.
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