Heat vs Hawks

Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami HEAT Sunday, April 26 @ 7:00 PM Series Record: 3-1 Miami.

For as much as the Hawks had zero defensive answers for the HEAT as a team in Game 1, they had nothing to offer Butler alone in Game 2. And the fourth quarter was what we often saw from the HEAT in fourth quarters, with offense stuck in the mud and Miami outscored 16-9 in the clutch, that likely ranked as question mark number one heading into the postseason. The third player in HEAT history to post a 45-5-5 in the playoffs – joining Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who each did it once – and the first to post that line with zero turnovers. They filled the margins. They crashed the glass. It was the sort of run that would end any normal game, but the Hawks were ready to fight for their season as they closed a 16-point lead in the final minutes – with Kyle Lowry out for the game with a left leg injury – and stole the last-second win, 111-110, off a Trae Young floater. The Hawks didn’t. Second chances and Tyler Herro (24 points on 22 shots) kept Miami in the game, but if we were to sum this one up it would be that the third quarter, full of glorious defense and balanced offense, was so much of what the HEAT did so well this season. A virtuoso performance for the record books, and one that puts Miami up 2-0 in the series with their 115-105 victory. Miami looked like they were going to pull away in the third as they went up by as much as 16, but then the offense – as has happened throughout this season and is something we’ll continue to keep an eye on – hit a lull and the Hawks got it under five as the minutes ticked down in the fourth. Game 3: It didn’t seem like the Hawks made enough of a move when they had their chance, because Miami’s defense had another gear to hit. If you think back to last September, once the HEAT’s roster was put together, and remember what you thought this team – full of experienced veterans and defensive talent – would look like once they hit the postseason, this is probably exactly what you thought it would look like. He hit jumpers – more on that below – he got to the rim, he burrowed his way into and through defenders and he turned steals, steals born out of his remarkable combination of instincts and quickness, into dunks.