Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Miami Heat Eliminate Atlanta Hawks with 97-94 Victory
Summary
In a season full of disappointing losses, tonight's game was obviously the worst. With no Jimmy Butler or Kyle Lowry, the Heat handled the Hawks 97-94 and won the series 4-1.
The Hawks entered training camp with supreme confidence and finished in humiliation. The 2021-22 season will truly serve as a cautionary tale of complacency. I'll save my complete season autopsy for the near future (you won't want to miss it).
As for tonight, Trae Young finished off a nightmare playoff series with 12 points (2-12 FG, 0-5 3PT), 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. The level of disrespect and doubt he will receive this offseason will far exceed what is warranted, but that comes with being a superstar. The pendulum always swings, and Young has kicked butt for so long that it was only time for the 23-year-old to have a bad stretch.
De'Andre Hunter had a monster game. His 35 points and 10 rebounds serve as a reminder of the difficult decision facing the front office this summer. But besides that, the Heat controlled the entire game. This awful video of Jimmy Butler below should be burned into the memory banks of every Hawks player all off-season.
Post-Game Interviews
Hawks head coach Nate McMillan praised his opponents, "First, I want to say congratulations to Erik and his team. They are a hell of a team. Those guys compete every second that they are out on the floor, and I have a great deal of respect for how they play and how he coaches his team."
Trae Young showed love to his team for everything they fought through during the season. As for this series, Young said, "This series was tough. They definitely challenged us, gotta go back to the drawing board and figure out what we could be better at and come back next year and not be in this situation."
That's it for the Hawks season. Tomorrow the team will host exit interviews before entering the off-season. Thank you so much for your support all season long. We have tons of exciting content planned for you this summer. As always, stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.
Stats
Hawks Leaders
De'Andre Hunter - 35 PTS, 11 REB
Kevin Huerter - 12 PTS
Danilo Gallinari - 12 PTS
Heat Leaders
Victor Oladipo - 23 PTS, 3 AST
Bam Adebayo - 20 PTS, 11 REB
Tyler Herro - 16 PTS, 4 REB
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