That a 21-0 third-quarter run wasn’t enough to decide it spoke to the Miami Heat’s uneven play Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
As did the inability to hold a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Instead, it was a fight to the finish, in what turned into a 111-110 Heat loss at State Farm Arena that reduced their lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
And even that result might ultimately prove secondary, with the Heat losing point guard Kyle Lowry for the night in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.
“Drained emotionally,” was how Heat guard Tyler Herro summed up the night.
It was decided when Hawks guard Trae Young drove for the winning basket with 4.4 seconds left to close the scoring, with the Heat’s Jimmy Butler then off on a 3-point attempt just before the final buzzer.
“We didn’t get the greatest execution or a clean look at the end,” coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged.
Herro led the Heat with 24 points, with Butler and Bam Adebayo each going for double-doubles, Butler with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Adebayo with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Max Strus added 20 points.
Young led the Hawks with 24 points, with Bogdan Bogdanovic adding 18 for Atlanta.
“They fought their butts off, and that’s what the playoff is,” Herro said of the Hawks.
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat led 24-22 at the end of the first period, fell behind by 11 in the second quarter, and then trailed 61-54 at halftime.
But then, the Heat let loose with their 21-0 third-quarter run to move to an 84-68 lead, taking an 85-77 advantage into the fourth.
The Heat then went up 14, before Young tied it 101-101 with a 3-point play.
It went back and forth until Heat power forward P.J. Tucker converted a 3-pointer for a 110-109 Heat lead with 53.9 seconds left.
But after empty possessions for both teams, Young scored on his floater with 4.4 seconds left.
“When the big moment came,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said of Young, “he had the last possession, he made it happen.”
2. Kyle concern: Lowry was lost for the night in the third quarter, with what Spoelstra said was a hamstring issue. He closed with six points on 4-of-7 shooting, five assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes.
“I do not know the severity,” Spoelstra said, with the training staff recommending Lowry not continue.
Earlier, Lowry was forced to the bench with his second foul with 5:56 left in the opening period and then shortly after returning was called for his third foul, with 8:05 left in the second quarter.
3. Getting his: Unable to find a rhythm in the series’ first two games. Herro did just that in the second period, with 12 points in the quarter.
His offense was needed, as the Heat otherwise struggled after an early Butler burst.
Herro had been limited to 21 total points in the series’ first two games.
His line on Friday included four 3-pointers, seven rebounds and four assists.
“He gave us some big-time shot-making and playmaking, which we needed,” Spoelstra said.
4. Early scare: Butler went down heard after absorbing contact to his chest and hip from John Collins after he was fouled by De’Andre Hunter while scoring 2:13 into the game.
The Heat then called time, with Butler able to make it to the bench and then shoot the free throw for the 3-point play. By rule, Butler had to shoot the free throw in order to remain in the game.
He made the free throw and continued on, closing the first quarter with 11 points and five rebounds.
5. Timing element: Listed as a 7 p.m. start but actually scheduled for a 7:17 p.m. to accommodate the national-television pregame, the game was delayed until 7:55 due to a suspicious package near the arena being investigated.
The investigation prevented some fans from moving to their assigned seating sections, with the arena three-quarters empty at 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Game 4 in Atlanta also is listed for 7 p.m., with that opening tip schedule for shortly thereafter.
The Hawks entered having won 20 of their previous 23 home games.
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