NBA Playoffs Coverage Game 3 (Game Commentary) April 22, 2022
35NBA Playoffs Coverage Game Commentary & Reaction April 22, 2022
Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami 111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat's series lead to 2-1.
Jimmy Butler missed a jumper with 12.6 second left that could've given the Heat a three-point cushion. He missed again on an off-balance 3 at the buzzer with De'Andre Hunter in his face to give the Hawks a burst of hope in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday night in Atlanta.
P.J. Tucker led a 21-0 run in the third quarter that pushed the Heat to an 84-68 lead and seemingly on cruise control to a 3-0 lead. But Young and the Hawks would not let them get away.
Young finished with 24 points despite another stout defensive effort by the Heat. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18, Hunter 17 and three others scored in double figures to take some of the pressure off the star guard.
Coming off a 45-point effort in Game 3, Butler was held to 20 in this one and missed a golden chance to give Miami a stranglehold on the series.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points, and Max Strus also had 20.
The Hawks led by 11 in the first half and were still up 68-63 when Hunter hit a 3-pointer with just under eight minutes remaining in the third.
That's when Miami suddenly took control of a game that was delayed about 45 minutes after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena before the game.
The Heat turned up their stifling defense, knocked down shots and silenced a sellout crowd that was used to seeing the Hawks win at home.
Tucker scored eight points in the six-minutes spree, but his best work came at the other end on Young.
Leaning on him so much that Young shoved him away in frustration on an inbounds play, the 36-year-old Tucker used every trick in the book to stifle just the second player in NBA history to lead the league in total points and assists. Even though Young hit only 2 of 7 shots in the first half, the Hawks led at the break for the first time in the series.
Danilo Gallinari had 11 points, five Atlanta players made 3s and the Hawks were up 61-54 heading to the locker room.
The Bucks started off with a strong shooting performance, getting threes early from Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis (aka Bobby Goggles), while Jrue Holiday showed a renewed focus in finishing at the rim. Without Khris Middleton, Mike Budenholzer opted to super size the starting lineup, placing Bobby Portis alongside Lopez, Holiday, Wes Matthews, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Grayson Allen hit three consecutive threes later in the first quarter, helping the Bucks open up a healthy lead and close the opening period up 33-17.
Milwaukee continued applying the pressure in the second quarter, especially when Nikola Vucevic was Chicago’s only big on the floor; the Bucks hunted him on offense to create mismatches while maintaining their excellent defensive pressure to deny the Bulls much momentum on the other end. It was, quite frankly, the type of play we expected from Milwaukee in Game 2, and the Bucks’ defense suffocated Chicago to the tune of a 60-41 halftime lead.
The New Orleans Pelicans stole Game 2 in Phoenix, which means they now possess home-court advantage against the NBA's top-seeded Suns. Devin Booker left in the second half with a hamstring injury, and his absence helped the Pelicans pull out the upset road win. With the series shifting to the Big Easy, Chris Paul and Co. will look to bounce back Friday night and reclaim the first-round series lead. Despite Booker's absence, the Suns and Pelicans are locked into a tight battle after 12 minutes of play in New Orleans.
Booker scored 31 first-half points -- the most in a half by any player this postseason -- before leaving the game for good. Phoenix, 8-6 without Booker this season, will have to move forward with its sharpshooting guard. The Suns received 17 points and 14 assists from Paul, who lost his 13th straight playoff game officiated by Scott Foster. The Suns are 32-9 on the road this season. The Pels, meanwhile, are 11-3 in their past 14 games when both Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum play.
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