The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers in previous playoffs to reach the playoffs as the eighth seeded player in the East. But the team they need to challenge in the first round of the playoffs is the Miami Heat, who are no. 1 in the East. The reality is harsh, and it is obviously not so easy for the Eagles to continue the style of the dark horse in last season's playoffs. The Heat have been in a consistent state this season, leaving almost no other team to catch the weakness.
However, Trae Young's personal ability is also beyond doubt, and the big heart he showed has conquered many fans. In the process of challenging the Cavaliers away from home, Trae Young played the extraordinary data performance under the gods and completed his self-redemption. Although the state in the first half was bad, only 6 points of data contribution, but in the second half of the competition, but got 32 points, leading the team to achieve a final reversal. So, this time to usher in the playoff debut, how should they perform against the Heat?
At the beginning of the game, the Heat, who were playing at home, took the lead and took the lead in the lead. The overall state of the players on the Hawks side is not good, Butler sent a comprehensive data of 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in the first quarter, and PJ Tucker, who came back in this game, also has 5 points and 2 rebounds, which helped the team play a 23-17 score. After taking the lead at the start, the Heat, who entered the second quarter, were able to follow the trend and continue to widen the point difference between the two teams.
Trae Young's shots in the second quarter were still poor, shooting 0 of 5 in a single quarter, which did not help the team relieve the pressure on the scoring end. However, Duncan Robinson, who came off the bench on the Heat side, stepped forward and delivered 11 points and 1 rebound to help the team continue to play a 36-23 score. At the end of the first half, the Heat were already ahead of the Hawks by a crucial 19 points! The point difference between the two teams was widening, and the Eagles were almost beaten to the point of no return. In fact, from start to finish, the Heat never gave them a chance to fight back.
Tucker shot 3-of-3 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the field in the third quarter, sending 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist to help the Heat score 27-20. By the time of entering the crucial final quarter of the showdown, the point difference between the two sides had been widened to 26 points, and the game had lost suspense, and Trae Young also chose to concede defeat in advance, clocking in three quarters to leave work, allowing the team's role players to consume the remaining game time. Of course, the Heat did not choose to kill people, allowing the Eagles to play a 31-29 score in the final quarter, recovering the previous two points behind.
In the end, the regular time of the fourth quarter was over, and the Heat completed a 24-point victory with a score of 115-91, ushering in a playoff start. No one would have imagined that in the first game of the playoffs, Duncan Robinson, who came off the bench, could play for 23 minutes, shooting 8 of 9 from three points and 9 of 10 from the field, sending out the highest score of 27 points in the game, effectively helping the team relieve the pressure on the scoring end. Meanwhile, Tucker, a defensive tough guy who came back from injury, also performed well in this game: 4 of 4 from three-point range, 6 of 8 from the field, and delivered a crucial 16 points and 5 rebounds!
It is worth affirming that Trae Young's performance in this game is obviously not good, only 1 of 12 bad hits, sending 8 + 6 + 4 data, did not play his Yang Shaoxia style at all. However, in an interview with the media after the game, Trae Young chose to deceive himself, bluntly saying that the Heat did not mean anything to win a game, and even said that they were swept in the first round of the playoffs last season. However, we have to admit that a 24-point defeat and early conceding performance have made the Hawks lose the initiative in this series.