The Hawks challenge the Heat
The Atlanta Hawks, arguably the most successful Eastern Conference dark horse last season, passed the barrier all the way, and successfully came to the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals, and finally lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. This season, many fans feel that the Hawks have lost their competitiveness, but who would have thought that after the All-Star, they won a play-off place, and then beat the Hornets and Cavaliers in succession to successfully win the eighth place in the East, once again showing the posture of a dark horse.
But this time, the Eagles will challenge the Miami Heat, the no. 1 in the East, in the first round of the playoffs, and the ranking is enough to prove how tough this team is. The Heat have the fourth most defensive efficiency in the league, this team is not lacking in defensive toughsters, facing such a team, can Trae Young prove himself again?
Trae Young was in a slump
Capela is out of the game due to injury, Collins is back, and the Eagles can be described as a joy and a worry. At the beginning of the first quarter, the Hawks' offense was mired, with Trae Young only having 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist on 1-of-4 shooting, as well as three turnovers, and the team scored only 1 three-pointer and only scored 17 points. Fortunately, the Heat only scored 23 points, so the point difference was only 6 points. After returning from the second quarter, Trae Young still did not find his touch, 5 shots 0 or 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, the Hawks' luck is not so good.
After Dunro came off the bench, he shot 4 of 5, 3 of 4 three-pointers, 11 points and 1 rebound in a single quarter, Lowry and Vincent each shot 2 three-pointers, and the Heat 7 three-pointers in a single quarter, directly bombing 36 points, leading the Hawks by as many as 20 points at the end of halftime. In the second half, the Eagles' offense was still a mess, Trae Young did not score a point on 0-of-3 shooting, and the team only scored 20 points, while the Heat side, veteran PJ Tucker ushered in the outbreak, three-point shooting 3-of-3, there were also 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, helping the team extend the lead to 27 points.
Such a huge point difference, the game can be said to have lost suspense, but this is the playoffs, the Eagles do not want to give up, but Duncan Robinson three-pointers feel hot, 4 shots all hit, a single quarter to take 13 points. Trae Young didn't make it, but the Hawks played the best single-quarter performance of the game, scoring 31 points, and even so, the Miami Heat still beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-91 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The first in the East is not easy to mess with
After this game, Trae Young should recognize the reality, the Miami Heat, the first in the East, is really not easy to mess with, this team has excellent three-pointers, the whole team hit 18 three-pointers, and the league's top defense, limiting Trae Young's 12 shooting, 7 of 0 three-pointers, only 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Although Gallinari had 17 points and 5 rebounds, he did not quench his thirst, Hunter had 14 points and 3 rebounds, and Collins, who had just returned, also had 10 points and 4 rebounds on the bench, but Bogdanovic only had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 8-of-0 shooting.
If it's just Trae Young in the doldrums, then the Hawks may still have a play, but with a bogdanovic, then it is a 24-point fiasco. The Heat once again showed the strength of the First Place in the East, Butler shot 9-of-15, with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, veteran Tucker hit 4 three-pointers, also had 16 points and 5 rebounds, Lowry 10 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists, but the number one hero, or Dunroe on the bench, shot 9-of-10, 9-of-3-pointers, 8-of-10, 27 points and 1 rebound, and only took 23 minutes.
This game is still only Dun Luo's hand is hot, if Hiro also finds a three-pointer, then such a Miami Heat, no one can despise.