Hawks Hinder Heat

     The seventh-place Miami Heat did not move into the NBA Playoffs with a 116-105 defeat to the eight-place Atlanta Hawks in an NBA Play-In Tournament game at Kaseya Center on Tuesday night. The Heat will host another play-in tournament contest on Friday night against either the ninth-place Chicago Bulls or the tenth-place Toronto Raptors. The Hawks will visit the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. 

     It was the first time in Miami Heat franchise history that the team was involved in a play-in tournament. The concept has been used by the National Basketball Association since 2020. 

     Atlanta rolled out to a 23-13 in the first eight minutes of the contest and led 36-27 after one quarter. The Hawks were up 53-36 with 6:49 to go in the second. They pushed it to a 20-point margin 59-39 with 3:30 remaining in the first half. The Heat trailed 65-50 by the time the contest reached halftime. 

     Miami began the second half on a 6-2 spurt. They cut the deficit down to five points, however Atlanta gained momentum and had a 91-78 at the end of the third quarter. The Hawks had a 110-99 lead with 3:27 remaining in the fourth. 

     Kyle Lowry came off the bench for the Heat and had a game-high 33 points. Tyler Herro contributed 26 points along with six rebounds. Jimmy Butler fell short of a double-double with 22 points and nine assists. 

     Trae Young led Atlanta with a club-high 25 points. The Hawks ended up with seven players who scored in double figures.