(The Sports Xchange) – Miami point guard Goran Dragic had a game-high 25 points as the Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals by routing the Charlotte Hornets 106-73 in a deciding Game 7 yesterday. The Heat will play the winner of yesterday’s other Game 7 between the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers. “The paint was more open, and I could attack,” Slovenian Dragic said. “(The Hornets) didn’t rotate so quickly. I had more room to operate, and it was a little bit easier than it was earlier.”
Miami, which never trailed, also got 16 points from Gerald Green, 15 points from Luol Deng, 12 points from Dwyane Wade and 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from Hassan Whiteside.
“I’m not a prophet,” Wade said, “but I knew we were winning this game.”
Charlotte, which just a few days ago had a 3-2 series lead, failed to close out the Heat. Hornets guard Kemba Walker, who had 37 points against Miami on Friday, was held to nine points on 3-for-16 shooting. He also had a game-high three turnovers.
Dragic and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised Walker despite his poor final game. “Kemba is an unbelievable player,” Dragic said. “It’s tough to stay in front of him. We knew he was going to be aggressive, maybe try to catch us being tired. We did an amazing job of team defense.”
Spoelstra said it was a “travesty” that Walker was not named an All-Star this season. “There isn’t anything Kemba can’t do,” Spoelstra said. “He puts so much pressure on you. But Goran didn’t get discouraged. He found his opportunities to be aggressive once their defense started to weaken.
“Dwyane’s usage was high in the last game. Goran had to be a big factor for us tonight.”
Besides winning the point guard battle, the other big advantage for Miami came on the boards. The Heat had a 58-36 edge on rebounds. That helped Miami hold a 58-22 advantage in paint points. Miami had an 18-5 edge on second-chance points.
