After their stirring fourth quarter performance in Game 3, the Atlanta Hawks were primed for a great night of entertaining playoff basketball against the Miami Heat at Sunday night’s Game 4. With 6:25 to go in the second quarter, the Ying Yang Twins performed “Get Low.” In a bit of irony, the Hawks had one of their lowest performances of the season, en route to a disastrous 110-86 defeat, leaving Atlanta on the brink of elimination.
Miami now leads the series 3-1.
In the second quarter, the Hawks went 5-of-22 from the field and 3-of-7 from the free throw line. Miami outscored Atlanta 30-15 and built a 14-point lead in the process.
Head Coach Nate McMillan was mum regarding the injury concerns surrounding Bogdan Bogdanovic. The sharpshooter did not play in the fourth quarter.
Miami ended Atlanta’s six game home winning streak with the victory. Trae Young was held to nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
”They’re doing a great job of showing help and not letting me get to the paint,” Trae Young said. ”You’ve got to give them credit. We’ve got to do a better job of figuring out how to get open looks so I can create for my teammates and myself, too.”
Young’s plus/minus was -27, as Miami targeted him defensively and kept him out of the paint.
Speaking of the painted area, Miami outscored the Hawks 47-26.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler dominated once again as he led all scorers with 36 points and 10 rebounds.
Victor Oladipo played 23 minutes coming off the bench. It was the first time he shared the floor with Jimmy Butler in the playoffs, refuting a report by “Undisputed” host Skip Bayless claiming Oladipo and Butler were unable to get along.
“I’m always the bad guy, but that’s ok because bad guys are welcomed here in the Miami Heat organization,” Butler said.
Butler continued, “I love my guys. As you can see, Vic was a huge part of us winning tonight and it’s tough because he deserves to play. But that’s not my call, I don’t talk to anybody about it, and I always tell him, you be who you are. Stay aggressive because when your number is called and which it was, you see what happens.”
As for the Hawks, they travel back to Dade County searching for answers as they try to stave off elimination Tuesday night.
“I mean, I gotta learn how to fight through it and make it easier for myself and for my teammates,” Young said. “So I gotta figure it out. That’s my plan.”
