Joe Johnson and J Smoove Close Out OT For Victory Over DWade and Sidekick In Miami; Lebron Should Stick To Sidekick Role

MIAMI, FLORIDA.  Huge plays by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith at the end of regulation and to close overtime helped to seal victory for the Atlanta Hawks over the Heat.

What might have been a blowout victory over the Bosh-less Miami Heat got a lot closer after the Hawks lost talented big-man, Al Horford, to a sprained right ankle in the 3rd quarter, however other Hawks were ready to step up.

J Smoove and the Atlanta Hawks soared to victory over the beaten and battered Heat.

With victory hanging in the balance, Johnson manned up and tied the game on a layup with 25.4 seconds left in regulation. The Heat chose not to call time-out, and instead, they ran the clock down and set up Sidekick for a 28-footer that banged off the side of the rim just before the buzzer.

As the clock began to run out on the overtime period, Josh Smith made a go-ahead layup with 34.7 seconds left in overtime. The Heat made the mistake of putting the game in Sidekick's hands once again, the result being a long missed three, and Joe Johnson hit two game-sealing free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to send the Heat to a fourth straight loss.

Sidekick struggled in his return to the Heat lineup vs the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks defense contained the Miami Heat, who shot 28 for 77 as a team, and DWade and DWade's Sidekick combined to shoot a dismal 19 for 50 as they were beaten by the Atlanta Hawks on their homecourt.

The poor performance follows yesterday's Miami Heat practice where Wade, Sidekick, and Bosh were unable to go because of injuries sustained against the physical Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers.

The game marked the return of Sidekick to the lineup for Miami after missing two games for a sprained ankle sustained in the beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers.

NBA fans caught a glimpse of Lebron as the Heat's game closer. Two chances to win the game, and two bad misses.

Lebron, better stick to your sidekick role.