The Atlanta Hawks entered Friday night’s tilt as betting underdogs against the Miami Heat. With Trae Young and Clint Capela joining the team’s jam-packed list of injury absences, interim head coach Nate McMillan and company had a tough task on paper against an opponent at nearly full strength, but the Hawks put together a spectacularly resilient effort. Atlanta pulled away late to win by a final score of 118-103 and, in the process, the Hawks secured the playoff tiebreaker against Miami by winning the three-game season series.
While the Hawks scored the first five points of the game, it was the Heat that took early control, at least to a mild extent.