Game 3 between Heat and Hawks starts 55 minutes late due to suspicious package outside arena
The start time for Game 3 of the Miami Heat’s first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday was pushed back because of a security issue.
A suspicious package found outside State Farm Arena in Atlanta delayed tipoff on Friday night for nearly an hour. Originally scheduled to begin around 7 p.m., the game did not tip off until 7:55 p.m.
According to the Hawks, the suspicious package was found outside Gate 2 of the arena. As a precaution, the three gates were temporarily closed to fans as the Atlanta Police Department, K-9 units and arena security cleared the area and investigated the contents of the package.
The package was not found to be explosive and it was safely removed by the Atlanta Bomb Squad.
With the temporary closure of some gates delaying entry for fans, the arena was essentially empty at the original start time of 7 p.m before it slowly began filling up as the new start time of 7:55 p.m. moved closer.
Both teams did not take the court for pregame warmups until a few minutes after 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s game aired locally on both ESPN and Bally Sports Sun. The Heat leads the first-round series 2-0.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 7:20 PM.
