Hawks 94 vs 97 Heat summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs

The Miami Heat closed out their opening round series at home against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Victor Oladipo led the Heat with 23 points in the 97-94 win from FTX Arena.

Butler a late scratch

Miami were dealt a blow pregame when it was announced that their leading scorer Jimmy Butler would not be playing due to inflammation in his right knee. They had already lost Kyle Lowry in Game 4, and the Heat were forced to play with the key pieces to their starting backcourt.

Neither team came out shooting well to start the game. While Miami’s star, Butler, was absent due to injury Atlanta’s star Trae Young was absent on the scoresheet.

Miami’s defense has been spectacular, especially against Young who averaged over 28 points per game in the regular season. The Heat swarmed the Hawks sharpshooter containing him to just 15.4 points a game during the series shooting 7-38 from downtown.

Late first half run puts Miami in control

Most of the first half was back and forth as each team shared bits of the lead through the first 20 minutes of the game. Down by three the Miami called a timeout with two and a half minutes to go in the second quarter and it change the course of the game as the Heat defense ignited.

Back-to-back steals out of the timeout gave the Heat a five quick points from Max Strus. He would score 10 straight points and lead his side on a 17-0 run in the final moments of the half to stretch the lead to 54-42.

Atlanta came out of the half on an 8-0 run, but then their offense went stagnant, allowing the Heat to stretch the lead back out to fifteen points.

Oladipo steps up with Butler on the bench

With Butler and Lowry out, Miami needed a standout performance from someone in their backcourt. They got it from Victor Oladipo who barley played during the regular season after recovering from a quad injury. He got the start and shined under the spotlight as he and Bam Adebayo took the game over in the second half.

While Young was held to just 11 points in Game 5, De’Andre Hunter exploded from a career playoff high 35 points as the former lottery pick inched the Hawks to within two points with just over a minute to go. Adebayo answered back to stretch the lead out to four in the final minute.

Atlanta had a chance to tie the game down three with 4.7 seconds to go, but failed to get a shot off as the Heat defense very appropriately ended the series by locking down the Hawks.

The top seeded team in the East will now wait for the winner of the Philadelphia vs. Toronto series. Philadelphia leads the Toronto 3-2 with Game 6 set for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

One last time for the Heat, it was Oladipo to Adebayo to seal the win.

Time after time it was Oladipo or Adebayo coming up with big baskets late on.

Oladipo finished the game with 23 points, including some clutch shots late on.

Have a look at the ball handling form Herro. He finished with 16 on the night.

Vincent with a huge three and one right before the quarter change to put the Heat up by 14.

Oladipo answered the call in Game 5 with Jimmy Butler on the bench due to injury.

The Hawks had no answer for Adebayo, who finished with

Strus had the scoring spell of the game when he hit 10 straight to spark a 17-0 run at the end of the first half.

Miami's defense was the key to this series, and Game 5 we saw more of the same from Tucker and company.

Martin the high flying highlight of the night.

Oladipo got going early and never stopped.

Terrible play on the out of bounds for Atlanta and terrific defense from Miami to end the game!!! The Heat are moving on to the second round of the playoffs after a 4-1 series win.

There's a challenge with 4.2 to go after the loose ball rebound goes out of bounds. MIA wants to see if it went off of Wright instead of Oladipo, but the challenge is successful.

Terrible foul by Vincent to stop the clock and send Young a 91% FT shooter to the line. But he misses the first! Second is good and it's a three point game.

Adebayo off the Oladipo feed and how fitting is it that those two connect for the biggest bucket of the night. Timeout Haws with 59.2 seconds to go.

Hunter with back to back deep balls!!! This one with a foot on the line. He's got 36!

Hunter drops the three and we have a four point game with 1:30 to go.

Young with a rare trip to the line and rare points tonight. He hits both to reach 10 points on the night.

Strus for three, and the Heat have had an answer to everything Atlanta has thrown at them.

Hunter goes back to the line, and hits two of two. He's got 29 on a playoff career high.

Hunter gets another two points this time from the line. He's on 28 for the night.

Oladipo at the line and he hits both. He's got 23 on the night.

Hunter doing it all on his own. He's got 26 on the night.

Bam at the line, hits one of two. The lead is back to 10 with 5 minutes to go.

Young just got a technical as frustration is setting in. Herro to the line and he hits the FT.

Oladipo off the dribble and to the cup. He's got 21.

Wright head to the line and hits both FTs. 6 point game with 6 minutes to go.

Adebayo off the feed from Tucker!! Adebayo and Oladipo have been terrific in the second half.

Hunter with the jam, and he's got 24 on the night, to go with his 10 rebounds.

7:00 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Oladipo in the corner for three and the Heat are back in a commanding lead. He's got 19 and what a way to step up in the absence of Jimmy Butler.

Herro breaks the Hawks run. He's got 15.

Okongwu down the land with the lay up and the foul. FT is good and it's a three point game.

Hunter taking over! THis time he hits the mid range jumper off the dribble. Timeout Miami with 8:34 to go in the fourth quarter.

Okangwu with a close range bucket and then Hunter drops a three and gets fouled by Adebayo. Just like that we have a seven point game.

Herro with an impossible effort off the glass on the drive.

Gallinari responds with a mid range jumper.

Vincent get the lay up to go for the first points of the fourth quarter.

Gallinari eases the pain with a three ball and we are headed to the final quarter from Miami.

Vincent for three and a foul! Thats a terrible mistake by Atlanta who could have gone to the fourth quarter down just 10. Now they trail by 14.

Hunter to the line with a couple of FTs. Lead is back to 10.

Herro on the pull up and he's got 11 points on the night.

Huerter from the top of the key for three! He's got 12 on the night.

Martin on the runner through the lane. Gets bumped, gets the bucket and gets the foul.

Huerter creeping in the passing lane for the steal and slam.

Gallinari on the fade away and the Hawks need more of that.

Adebayo taking this game over. The Heat are back up by 15, and Adebayo has 15.

Martin with the finger roll off the TO from Young. Since that 8-0 run the Hawks started the half with they have scored just two points. Young continues to be shut down by the Miami defense. Timoeout Hawks with under 4 minutes to go in the third quarter.

Adebayo at the line, he drops both and he's got 13 and 10 rebounds.

Oladipo from straight on and he's got 16 points on the night.

Okongwu at the line, and this game has slowed to a snails pace with all the fouls and stoppages. One of two FTs are good and it's a six point game.

Morris is called for the unsportsmanlike technical after the review. Young hits the FT and the Hawks get teh ball back.

Young just turned the ball over after stepping on the sideline, but the replay shows he was help by a member of the Heat bench which led to him being out of bounds. The refs are currently reviewing the play.

Adebayo with back to back buckets. He's got 11 pts and 9 rebs.

Adebayo wtih the tip slam! Much needed bucket for the Heat to start their second half.

Collins on the jam and the Hawks mean business coming into the second half. 8-0 run out of the gate for Atlanta.

Young with the floater, and that is what the Hawks need to see. Their star getting into the paint, which is where he feels most comfortable.

Hunter with a couple quick buckets to start the third quarter.

We are back in action in the second half of Game 5 from Atlanta.

Strus had 10 straight points in the second quarter after the Heat came out of a timeout break with two straight steals.

Hunter is the top scorer for the Hawks through the first half, which isn't great news for Atlanta. They need Young in this game.

Martin with the tip slam! The Heat have thrived on the offensive glass all series long.

Oladipo got the start with Butler on the bench and he is showing out for the Heat tonight.

Heurter got the Hawks going in the first quarter from deep.

Leaders at halftime

Victor Oladipo leads all scorers with 13 points, while Strus has 12 for the Heat.

Hunter has 11 points and Huerter has 7 points.

We are headed to halftime. What a finish to the first half for the Heat. They go on a 17-0 run to stretch the lead out to 14 points. Strus was instrumental in that run hitting 10 straight points.

Hunter going to the line with 3.2 seconds left in the half. Martin was just injured on that last trip down court. Heads to the locker room clutching his hand while Hunter hits both FTs.

Vincent going into the belly on the beast, getting the the basket and the foul. FT is good and it's a 17-0 run in the last three minutes.

Capela called from the flagrant, as Adebayo hits both FTs and the Heat will get the ball back with 54.1 to go in the half.

Under a minute to go in the first half, and the refs are going to the review table to see if Capela committed a flagrant on Adebayo.

Strus again!!! The Heat look like a different team after that timeout.

Strus drops another triple, and the Heat are on a 10-0 run.

Back to back steals for the Heat out of the timeout. Strus gets the first bucket off the robbery on the inbound and then Strus gets it to go from downtown.

Herro in the corner on the step back and he's got nine points.

Huerter going to the rack strong not for the first time tonight.

Oladipo from the top of the key and he gets it to go for 13 already on the game.

Young at the line where he hits one of two. He's just 1/6 from the field tonight.

Tucker with the steal and Strus on the follow in tranistion. First points of the game for Strus.

Wright in the corner with the shot clock winding down and a hand in his face.

Oladiop at the line. He hits both and is in double digits on the night.

Herro drops the long two with a foot on the line.

Hunter for three and he now leads the Heat on the night with 9 points. Timeout Heat with 7:27 to go in the second quarter.

What a finish from Martin! No clue how that went it as he drove and flipped it over his head and off the glass.

Gallinari from downtown!!! The Italian has 5 points.

Hunter on the baseline and he's just 2/8 from the field but has six points on the night.

Martin on the tip slam and that's the loudest the FTX crowd has been all night.

Huerter just got a tech after getting an offensive foul called against him. The Hawks can illafford to give up cheap points like that. Herro at the line hits the technical FT.

Martin on the drive down Main Street. First basket of the second quarter for the Heat.

Gallinari down low and right now the Hawks are being the more physical team.

Choppy game so far. Plenty of fouls being called. This time it's Martin going to the line missing both. 13 fouls between the two teams through a quarter and a minute.

Okongwu at the line and he hits both FTs for the first points of the second quarter.

We have a defensive struggle in Miami. The Hawks are shooting 8/27 while the Heat are 9/21 from the field.

Young has just four points while Huerter has 7.

Oladipo had a run of three straight baskets and ended the first 12 minutes with 8 points.

Young fouled and that brings him to the FT line where he hits both. He has just four points on the night, but seeing the ball go through the basket will be good for him going into the second quarter.

Adebayo at the line and he hits one of two. Under a minute to go in the first quarter.

Hunter gets the loose ball and finishes with the floater.

Too easy down low for Adebayo! Nice feed from Herro on the perimeter.

Herro at the line, and he gets both FTs to fall.

Young getting into the heart of the defense and hitting the tough leaner. That's his first basket of the night.

Herro on the lay up off the glass.

Wright on the third chance opportuninty to retake the lead.

Collins down low and gets the bucket to drop and gets the foul. FT is good, as the Hawks are finding success with this small line up.

Hunter at the line and he gets both to drop.

Oladipo again! He's got 8 points already, and is perfect from the field. Timeout Hawks after a 12-2 run from. 7:25 to go in the first half.

Tucker on the layup and the Heat are streaking. Miami are on a 10-2 run.

Oladipo on back to back to back buckets. He's getting the chance to start with Butler on the bench. He's got 6 pts on 3/3 shooting from the field.

Adebayo on the jump hook in the lane.

Huerter this time from the paint and he's got a quick 5 points.

Collins on the slam, and he's going to have to be Young's side kcik tonight.

Tucker hits the short range effort to get Miami on the board.

Huerter gets the scoring going with a deep ball.

We are underway from Miami!!! The Heat can close out the series with a win here tonight.

The Hawks starters for tonight. They get Clint Capela back for a second straight game after he hyperextended his knee earlier in the postseason. Bogdan Bogdanovic will not feature for the Hawks tonight with right knee soreness.

The Heat's starting five tonight in this potential close out game.

Tonight's odds

According to Bet365.com the Heat are 6.5 point favorites and the Over/Under is 217. Despite the injuries Miami is dealing with, I like the Heat to close out the series, as they continue to shut down Trae Young. I think Young tries to force himself into this game, which will lead to the Hawks getting out of rhythm on the offensive end. If that happens the Heat win big and cover the 6.5 to advance to the second round.

Young has been tamed by Heat defense

It’s no secret that Trae Young is at the center of the Hawks success. He has been blanketed by the Heat defenders all series long, and has yet to hit his regular season average of 28.4 ppg. He went 1-12 and scored just 8 points in Game 1, then bounced back for 25 in Game 2. His 24 and 8 assists in Game 3 were good enough to seal the one point win, but then was held to 9 points on 3-11 shooting in Game 4.

PJ Tucker and the Heat coming in to FTX Arena flashing the drip. Does anyone in the league have a meaner shoe game than P.J.?

Lowry out tonight

Jimmy Butler isn't the only Miami player out tonight. Heat star Kyle Lowry is set to sit a second straight game after aggravating a hamstring injury before Game 4. It is unknown how long the Miami guard will be out with injury, but advancing to the next round as soon as possible would buy Lowry and the Heat some much needed time to recover their veteran who is averaging 13.4 points a night.

First round win means Finals run?

The last time the Heat won a playoff series was back in 2020 when they ended up going all the way to the Finals in the bubble in the covid interrupted season a couple years ago. They swept the Pacers in the first round, and advanced to the second round to take on the Bucks who they beat 4-1 before meeting the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks have their backs against the wall coming into Game 5. Trae Young will have to be magnificent to extend the series.

Heat have a fortress in FTX Arena

The Heat finished the regular season with just 12 losses at home, which was tops in the conference and tied for fourth best in the league. They held on to home court in their first two games against the Hawks in South Beach, and will have a chance to reach the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Big news out of Miami's camp! Jimmy Butler will not play tonight. He has been the Heat's best player, and put up 36 in the last game. The Hawks chances for survival just got a lot more realistic.

Last time out

The Heat bounced back from their Game 3 loss with a convincing road win over the Hawks. Jimmy Butler was sensational, exploding in the second quarter to give the Heat a first half lead during a stretch where he scored 13 points. He would end the game with 36 and 10 rebounds as Miami cursed to an easy win to advance to 3-1 in the first round.

We are live from FTX Arena

Hello everyone and welcome to Miami, where the Heat are flirting with the second round of the playoffs after stealing a game in Atlanta last time out. The Hawks are hanging on for dear life, after squeaking by the Miami in Game 3 thanks to a Trae Young floater with 4.4 seconds on the clock.

Hawks vs. Heat

It’s a potential close out game for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as the Miami Heat take on the eighth seed Atlanta Hawks from FTX Arena. AS English will be with you for all the action, providing live coverage, stats, scores and analysis of tonight’s Game 5.