ATLANTA — That a 21-0 third-quarter run wasn’t enough to decide it spoke to the Miami Heat’s uneven play Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Instead, it was a fight to the finish in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference opening-round NBA playoff series, in what turned into a 111-110 Heat loss and that reduced their lead to 2-1 in the matchup.
And even that result might ultimately prove secondary, with the Heat losing point guard Kyle Lowry for the night in the third quarter with a leg injury.
It was decided when Hawks guard Trae Young drove for the winning basket with 4.4 seconds left to close out the scoring, with the Heat’s Jimmy Butler then off on a 3-point attempt just before the final buzzer.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 24 points, with Butler and Bam Adebayo each going for double-doubles, Butler with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Bam Adebayo with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Max Strus added 20 points for the Heat.
Young led the Hawks with 24 points, with Bogdan Bogdanovic adding 18 for Atlanta.
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
— 1. Closing time: The Heat led 24-22 at the end of the first period, fell behind by 11 in the second quarter, and then trailed 61-54 at halftime.
But then the Heat let loose with a 21-0 third-quarter run to move to an 84-68 lead, with an 85-77 lead going into the fourth.
The Heat then went up 14, before Young tied it 101-101 with a 3-point play.
It went back and forth until Heat power forward P.J. Tucker converted a 3-pointer for a 110-109 Heat lead with 53.9 seconds left.
But after empty possessions for both teams, Young scored on his floater with 4.4 seconds left for a 111-110 Atlanta lead.
— 2. Kyle concern: Lowry was lost for the night in the third quarter, with an unspecified injury in his left leg.
He closed with six points on 4-of-7 shooting, five assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes.
Earlier, Lowry was forced to the bench with his second foul with 5:56 left in the opening period and then shortly after returning was called for his third foul, with 8:05 left in the second quarter. He closed the game with those three fouls.
— 3. Getting his: Unable to find a rhythm in the series’ first two games. Herro did just that in the second period, with 12 points in the quarter.
His offense was needed, as the Heat otherwise struggled after Butler’s early burst.
Herro had been limited to 21 total points in the series’ first two games.
He was tied for game high with Strus with his 17 points going into the fourth quarter.
— 4. Early scare: Butler went down hard after absorbing contact to his chest and hip from John Collins after he was fouled by De’Andre Hunter while scoring 2:13 into the game.
The Heat then called timeout, with Butler able to make it to the bench and then shoot the free throw for the 3-point play. By rule, Butler had to shoot the free throw in order to remain in the game.
He made the free throw and continued on, closing the first quarter with 11 points and five rebounds.
— 5. Timing element: Listed as a 7 p.m. start but actually scheduled for a 7:17 p.m. to accommodate the national-television pregame, the game was delayed until 7:55 due to a suspicious package near the arena being investigated.
The investigation prevented some fans from moving to their assigned seating sections, with the arena three-quarters empty at 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Game 4 in Atlanta also is listed for 7 p.m., with that opening tip schedule for shortly thereafter.
The Hawks entered having won 20 of their previous 23 home games.
