It wasn’t exactly how things would normally be drawn up. But the top-seeded Miami Heat did what they needed to do on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Miami started slow and finished poorly. In between, though, the Heat were fantastic.
Without Jimmy Butler, they trailed 34-28 in the second quarter. The Heat narrowed the deficit from there and finished the half on a 17-2 run to go up 54-42. Atlanta got on a run of its own and trailed by three in the final seconds. But Miami’s smothering defense came up big in the final seconds, preventing the Hawks from even getting off a shot to try to tie the game. With that, the Heat won 97-94 to close the series out 4-1.
The @MiamiHEAT execute perfectly on the last defensive possession of the game to get the win and advance! pic.twitter.com/PygOai493B
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2022
NEVER IN DOUBT.
On to Round 2! pic.twitter.com/3IEr3eRzU8
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 27, 2022
For some Miami fans, it was understandably a little too close for comfort.
Can’t spell Heart attack without HEAT
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) April 27, 2022
By and large, though, the Heat received a lot of praise. In an era with a lot of scoring, several fans heaped praise on Miami and its smothering defense.
https://twitter.com/NinjaHoops_1/status/1519132689072156672
THAT IS MIAMI HEAT DEFENSE!!!
— Austin (@Austin_Konenski) April 27, 2022
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more “Erik Spoelstra” type team than this Heat team. They’re maniacal.
— Will Manso (@WillManso) April 27, 2022
Heat defense gonna win them this chip no cap omg
— Ahmmon Richards (@AhmmonR2) April 27, 2022
Miami Heat defense 🔥
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 27, 2022
The Heat melted Ice Trae …. pic.twitter.com/QlBDQGimV6
— Double L must Rock The Bells (@LoveThePuck) April 27, 2022
Watching what the Celtics did to KD and what the Heat have done to Trae, is a pretty good reminder that the saying "defense wins championships" still has some weight.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 27, 2022
Trae Young in losses this series:
G1: 1 FG, 6 TOV
G2: 10 FG, 10 TOV
G4: 3 FG, 5 TOV
G5: 2 FG, 6 TOV pic.twitter.com/EWCFwSPijz— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2022
It was a rough series for Trae Young. Atlanta’s star averaged 15.4 points per game, shot 31.9% from the field, 18.4% on threes and 79% on free throws. All totals were well below his season totals of 28.4 points per game, 44% on field goals, 38.2% on threes and 90.4% on free throws. He was far from the only Hawks player to struggle offensively, though. Atlanta averaged only 97.4 points per game for the series.
Miami is something of an unheralded team in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. While the Heat are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, other teams seem to be generating more buzz. But with this kind of defense, beating Miami four times in a series will be easier said than done.
The Heat (per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press) will open the second round of the playoffs on Monday, May 2. They’ll take on either the No. 4 seed Philadelphia 76ers or No. 5 Toronto Raptors.
