Trae Young sprinted down the court to hit a floater with 5.5 seconds to play, putting the game on his back to seal the Hawks’ 111-110 Game 3 win vs. the Heat in the NBA playoffs Friday at State Farm Arena.
Next up, Game 4 will be Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. After starting out the first-round series 0-2, this win gives the No. 8 seed Hawks life up against the No. 1 seed Heat, as going down 0-3 would have left them facing elimination. The Hawks are 21-3 in their last 24 home games.
2. Thankful to be back in their own gym, the Hawks got off to a solid start and led by seven at halftime before a dreadful third quarter put them in dire straits. A 21-0 run gave the Heat an 84-68 lead with 2:48 left in the period. All in all, the Hawks lost the third quarter 31-16 and entered the fourth quarter down 85-77, getting down 14 with 9:06 to play in the fourth before the comeback started.
3. Bogdan Bogdanovic (18 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, plus-16) and Delon Wright (13 points, five rebounds, one assist, plus-23) were bright spots for the Hawks, making winning plays all night but especially at crunch time. After giving up that massive run, it seemed Atlanta might fade away, but Wright, Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu (who was excellent in the fourth quarter and finished with nine points, six rebounds and two blocks) combined for a stellar bench unit. Add in Young, who they played off the ball more, and the Hawks combined scrappy defense with clutch shots to claw back in the game, a layup by Wright and two 3′s by Bogdanovic narrowing the deficit to 101-98 with 3:50 to play.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
4. Young couldn’t get many shots to fall early, but came through in the fourth quarter. He scored 10 points and was plus-18 in the fourth quarter, finishing with a team-high 24 points (6-for-14 field goals, 2-for-6 from 3-point range, 10-for-12 free throws), plus eight assists, four rebounds and one steal, limiting turnovers with three after 10 in Game 2. After P.J. Tucker broke free for a corner 3 to take a 110-109 lead with 54.2 seconds to play in the fourth, Young marched straight down the court to get to his floater, putting the Hawks in front 111-110 with 5.5 seconds left.
5. This game was delayed about 45 minutes after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena at Gate 2. Thankfully, no threat was detected and the game eventually got underway.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Gates 1, 2 and 3 were temporarily closed by the Atlanta Police Department while the police department, K-9 units and Arena security worked to clear the area and investigate the contents of the package,” a statement from the Hawks read. “The contents of the package were not found to be explosive, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta Bomb Squad.”
Stat of the game: 35-24 (what the Hawks won the fourth quarter by to claim Game 3, bouncing back from losing the third 31-16)
Star of the game: Wright (made solid defensive plays all night, steadying the Hawks and finishing as a plus-23)
Quotable: “When we got that miss, down one, basically it was like ‘Go,’ and he knows what to do with that basketball and was able to make a play.” (Hawks coach Nate McMillan on Young’s final floater to give Atlanta a late lead)
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