The list of possible Miami Heat first-round playoff opponents has been whittled from four at the start of the NBA play-in round to two: the Atlanta Hawks or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Those two teams will meet Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Cleveland to determine which will travel to South Florida for Sunday’s 1 p.m. Game 1 of the opening-round best-of-seven series against the top-seeded Heat at FTX Arena.
The Hawks punched their ticket to Friday’s winner-take-all play-in showdown with 132-103 victory Wednesday night over the visiting Charlotte Hornets at State Farm Arena.
On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers fell into the Friday night’s all-or-nothing game with a 115-108 road loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
The play-in round determines the Nos. 7-8 playoff seeds in each conference, with a competition among the teams that placed seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th in the conference at the close of the regular season.
As a result of Tuesday’s play-in opener, the Nets, who ended the regular season seventh in the East, earned the No. 7 seed and will open the first round of the playoffs Sunday against the No. 2 Boston Celtics.
With Wednesday’s loss, the Hornets, who closed the regular season 10th in the East, were eliminated from playoff contention and became eligible for the NBA draft lottery.
The Cavaliers closed the regular season eighth in the East, the Hawks ninth.
The Heat went 1-2 against Cleveland during the regular season, 3-1 against the Hawks.
The winner of Friday’s Cavaliers-Hawks will have about a 39-hour turnaround before facing the Heat, with the Heat postseason opener the first of four NBA playoff games on Sunday.
The loser of Friday’s Cleveland-Atlanta game also will be eligible for the NBA draft lottery.
As the No. 1 seed, the Heat will have homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, including Games 1 and 2 of the first round on Sunday and Tuesday at FTX Arena.
The Cavaliers are the lone Eastern Conference team the Heat has yet to face in the playoffs in the Heat’s 34 seasons. The Heat have played the Hawks twice in the postseason, losing 3-2 in the 1994 first round and losing 4-3 in the 2009 first round, the initial playoff appearance of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Hawks last season advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with much of the same core currently in place. The Cavaliers have not been to the playoffs since losing the 2018 NBA Finals in LeBron James’ final season with the team before leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers.
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