Miami Heat smothers Hawks, Trae Young to take 1-0 lead in first round playoff series
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A blowout win for the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-91 in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday at FTX Arena.
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The Heat and Hawks weren’t even halfway through the first quarter of the first game of their first-round playoff series when each side’s star player came together in an intense on-court confrontation.
Even though Jimmy Butler and Trae Young went nose-to-nose for a second like two MMA fighters ready to throw down, drawing double technical fouls and a huge roar from the crowd at FTX Arena, there was no pushing or punches thrown.
The Heat landed all the blows from that point on, however, during a 115-91 victory on Sunday afternoon, which gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the series.
The hits kept coming from the host Heat in the form of a stingy defense that helped neutralize Young, who scored only eight points (a career low in the playoffs and season low) and shot a dismal 1-for-12 from the field including 0-for-7 from 3-point range.
“We all know he’s a (heck) of a player and he missed a lot of shots he normally makes tonight so we did a good job of making him do that but we’ve got a long way to go,” Butler said.
Miami also struck often on the offensive end with a trademark 3-point shooting barrage from the team that led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage (37.9 percent).
Led by Duncan Robinson’s career playoff-high 27 points, most of which came from his 8-for-9 shooting from long distance, the Heat made 18 of 37 shots (48.6 percent) from 3.
Robinson moved into fourth place on the Heat’s all-time list of playoff three-point field goals made as he now has 81 in his postseason career, surpassing Tim Hardaway’s 80. He is currently 16 triples behind Dwyane Wade, who is in third place with 97.
Butler and Young’s first quarter entanglement came with 6:33 left in the first quarter and just after the Heat began a 9-0 run, which put them on course for the blowout win.
Butler hit the first of Miami’s 3-pointers after Atlanta scored the first three points of the game - its only lead - and the Heat never trailed again.
Danilo Gallinari had 17 points and De’Andre Hunter scored 14 points to lead the Hawks, who shot 38.7 percent from the field and went 10 for 36 (27.8 percent) from 3-point range overall.
Butler totaled 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kyle Lowry finished with 10 points and nine assists.
On the sequence which led to the two stars coming together, Butler appeared to take exception with Young putting his shoulder up near his face and put his own arms near Young’s neck area before the two stared each other down as the referees repeatedly whistled.
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Neither Young nor the Hawks were themselves from that point on.
Atlanta, playing only 48 hours after winning an elimination game on the road against the Cavaliers, shot 11 for 38 (28.9 percent) in what was its worst shooting half this season.
“That team can score in bunches, obviously Trae Young can ignite at any point so if you relax, all of a sudden he can hit a couple of shots that can turn into a lot more and you have to respect that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game.
“This team can score. This is not indicative of the type of team this has been over the last two months. Our veterans recognize that and we respect that.”
Meanwhile, the Heat connected on 10 for 19 shots from 3 in the first half and eventually led by as many as 32 in the second half. The Heat also moved the ball remarkably well with 35 assists on 43 made field goals as Miami shot 52.4 percent overall.
The Hawks, who were playing without starting forward Clint Capela after he suffered a right knee hyperextension during their play-in game on Friday against Cleveland, were outscored 36-26 in the paint. This could be an ongoing problem for Atlanta in the series as Capela is expected to be reevaluated in one week.
P.J. Tucker, who had been dealing with a strained calf, was back in the Heat’s starting lineup and finished with 16 points and five rebounds. Tucker and Gabe Vincent each took part in frustrating Young in the first half, holding him to 1 for 9 shooting by halftime.
Young turned the ball over six times, had four assists, and was stripped on two different occasions 1-on-1 by Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo.
The Heat’s group of Tyler Herro, Robinson, Dewayne Dedmon and Vincent accounted for 46 of Miami’s 53 bench points.
This story was originally published April 17, 2022 at 3:22 PM.
