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Hawks hold off Heat 116-105, grab No. 7 seed in Eastern Conference playoffs

Trae Young scores 25 points as Atlanta improves to 3-0 all-time in play-in games
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young looks for opening past Miami Heat guard Max Strus and forward Jimmy Butler in NBA play-in game, April 11, 2023
Posted at 10:10 PM, Apr 11, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-11 22:11:10-04

MIAMI — Trae Young scored 25 points, Clint Capela grabbed 21 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks grabbed the No. 7 in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 in a play-in tournament game Tuesday night.

Dejounte Murray added 18 points for the Hawks, who avenged a five-game Round 1 loss to Miami last season and earned an East first-round matchup with Boston that will start Saturday.

Kyle Lowry scored 33 points — his highest-scoring game in his two Miami seasons — for the Heat, who will host either Toronto or Chicago on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed and a spot against top overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1. The Raptors and Bulls play Wednesday; the winner of Friday's game opens the series against the Bucks on Sunday.

Tyler Herro scored 26 for Miami, and Jimmy Butler finished with 21.

For the Hawks, four reserves — Saddiq Bey, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson — combined for 53 points.

The Hawks improved to 3-0 all-time in play-in tournament games; that's the best mark in the league, one that New Orleans can match when it plays host to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

And they earned this one on the boards. Atlanta outrebounded Miami 63-39, including 22-6 on the offensive glass that keyed a 26-6 edge in second-chance points.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young works his way past Miami Heat guards Max Strus and Kyle Lowry in NBA play-in game, April 11, 2023
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young works his way through the defense of Miami Heat guard Max Strus and guard Kyle Lowry during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Miami.

The Hawks took two timeouts in the first 3:53 of the third quarter, as most of what was a 24-point lead with 2:37 left in the first half — 63-39 Atlanta was the margin — got whittled away, and fast.

Miami cut the margin to 15 by halftime, then opened the third quarter on a 16-6 run. Add it all up, and it was a 27-8 run in about 7 minutes of play to get the Heat within 71-66.

But the Hawks had an answer then, and every other time the Heat made a run. The Atlanta lead was 13 again going into the fourth, and when Miami was within six midway through the final quarter, the Hawks scored five straight to restore a double-digit edge.