Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Hawks Game 4

Game 1: A dominant 115-91 performance. If you think back to last September, once the HEAT’s roster was put together, and remember what you thought this team – full of experienced veterans and defensive talent – would look like once they hit the postseason, this is probably exactly what you thought it would look like. Stifling, suffocated defense – Atlanta’s half-court offense was 84.9 points-per-play – leading a balanced, team-oriented offensive approach (only Jimmy Butler took more than 11 shots) that could hit the highs of efficiency behind a stable of mobile volume shooters. In other words, the HEAT were exactly who we thought they were. The cliff notes are that a gifted Atlanta attack had few answers with the ball and no answers when Miami was in possession. As good a start to a series as you could possibly have, with Duncan Robinson setting the postseason HEAT record with eight threes (on nine attempts). Full Recap

Game 2: A game with great rhythm, this was not. The first half was messy for both sides, with plenty of free-throws, core players in foul trouble and turnovers to go around. Miami looked like they were going to pull away in the third as they went up by as much as 16, but then the offense – as has happened throughout this season and is something we’ll continue to keep an eye on – hit a lull and the Hawks got it under five as the minutes ticked down in the fourth.

The constant throughout? Jimmy Butler. 45 points. 25 shots. Five rebounds. Five assists. Zero turnovers. Zero fouls. The third player in HEAT history to post a 45-5-5 in the playoffs – joining Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who each did it once – and the first to post that line with zero turnovers. For as much as the Hawks had zero defensive answers for the HEAT as a team in Game 1, they had nothing to offer Butler alone in Game 2. He hit jumpers – more on that below – he got to the rim, he burrowed his way into and through defenders and he turned steals, steals born out of his remarkable combination of instincts and quickness, into dunks. A virtuoso performance for the record books, and one that puts Miami up 2-0 in the series with their 115-105 victory. This time, when the HEAT’s offense appeared to be descending into the mud, Butler was there to grab hold and catapult them out of it. Full Recap

Game 3: It didn’t seem like the Hawks made enough of a move when they had their chance, because Miami’s defense had another gear to hit. And their shooting (14-of-45 after the slow start) only kind of caught up. The result was a brick wall of a 20-0 run in the third quarter where all those shots the Hawks were hitting before didn’t just stop missing, they stopped existing. For about five minutes of game time, with Bam Adebayo and P.J. Tucker leading the way with their one-on-one containment, Atlanta either couldn’t hold onto the ball, couldn’t get the ball inside the arc or couldn’t find a jumper that didn’t come with a hand in a face. It was the sort of run that would end any normal game, but the Hawks were ready to fight for their season as they closed a 16-point lead in the final minutes – with Kyle Lowry out for the game with a left leg injury – and stole the last-second win, 111-110, off a Trae Young floater. A lot of teams fold after the run the HEAT made. The Hawks didn’t. Second chances and Tyler Herro (24 points on 22 shots) kept Miami in the game, but if we were to sum this one up it would be that the third quarter, full of glorious defense and balanced offense, was so much of what the HEAT did so well this season. And the fourth quarter was what we often saw from the HEAT in fourth quarters, with offense stuck in the mud and Miami outscored 16-9 in the clutch, that likely ranked as question mark number one heading into the postseason. The HEAT are still in control 2-1 and this one played out with the home team playing with desperate energy rather than figuring out some grand solution, but it was enough for a win.
Full Recap