MIAMI — It ultimately didn’t matter that the Heat was without the guy averaging 30.5 points per game in this playoff series. It didn’t matter that floor general Kyle Lowry wasn’t in uniform, either. And it certainly didn’t matter that Miami opened 1 for 11 on threes.
None of it mattered in the end, because the one constant in this series remained intact: a swarming, relentless, tireless Heat defense that exasperated Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks again on Tuesday night and catapulted Miami into the second round of the NBA playoffs.
That defense triggered a 17-0 Heat run late in the second quarter of Game 5, and the Hawks never led in the second half, losing the game 97-94 and losing the series 4-to-1.