Heat eliminate Hawks with 97-94 Game 5 win
The top-seeded Miami Heat are through to the Eastern Conference semifinals after beating the Atlanta Hawks in five games, capped by a 97-94 win Tuesday night.
Miami was without Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry for Game 5, but still managed to put away Atlanta. After the two teams battled back and forth for much of the first half, the Heat went on a 17-0 run late in the second quarter that turned a three-point deficit into a 14-point lead. The Hawks went on a run late in the fourth quarter and trailed by just three in the final seconds, but were unable to get off an attempt at a game-tying 3.
Two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo — who appeared in only eight regular season games and just one of the first four games against Atlanta — led the Heat with 23 points, including three 3-pointers.
Heat center Bam Adebayo finished the win with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Hawks' star point guard Trae Young scored just 11 points in the loss and missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Atlanta instead got the most offense out of De'Andre Hunter, who scored a career-high 35 points with 11 rebounds.
Miami will next face the winner of the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors. Butler and Lowry are both expected to return for the semifinal round and reportedly had a chance to play Game 6 against the Hawks.
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