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GAME STORY
The Miami Heat have held Trae Young to single-digit scoring outputs twice in their four games this series — a huge achievement against the player who scored more points than anyone else in the NBA this season.
And now, they’ll have to lock him up one more time to get a win and advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. The Heat blasted the Hawks to a 24 point victory in Atlanta on Sunday night and they did it without Kyle Lowry who sat out. Lowry is again out for Game 5 nursing a hamstring injury he suffered in Game 3.
There’s been a lot to like from the Heat so far this series — their defensive game plan has been on point forcing the Hawks to beat them with tough shots and limiting their chances to create mismatches. They have found the sweet spot for Jimmy Butler to operate (he’s leading the Playoffs in scoring at 30.5 PPG), and they have also now incorporated Victor Oladpio into the lineup without Lowry.
The only downfall is that Tyler Herro has really struggled. He score 3 points on 1-8 shooting in 21 minutes in Game 4. No one noticed or cared too much because the Heat were cruising, but Herro has got to get a few things going.
Game 5 is an elimination game for the Hawks, so Miami will get their best punch likely. Let’s see what we are all made of in this one!
Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
| GAME | DATE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAME | DATE | MATCHUP | TIME | TV |
| Game 1 | Tuesday, May 17 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 2 | Thursday, May 19 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 3 | Saturday, May 21 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Game 4 | Monday, May 23 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Game 5* | Wednesday, May 25 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 6* | Friday, May 27 | Miami @ Boston | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Game 7* | Sunday, May 29 | Boston @ Miami | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
INACTIVE/INJURIES
MIAMI:
- Gabe Vincent: probable (toe)
- Caleb Martin: questionable (ankle)
- PJ Tucker: questionable (calf)
- Kyle Lowry: out (hamstring)
ATLANTA:
- Lou Williams: out (back)
- Clint Capela: questionable (knee)
- Bogdan Bogdanovich: questionable (knee)
LINEUPS
Projected Starters
| Celtics | Position | Heat |
|---|---|---|
| Celtics | Position | Heat |
| Marcus Smart | PG | Gabe Vincent |
| Jaylen Brown | SG | Max Strus |
| Grant Williams | SF | Jimmy Butler |
| Jayson Tatum | PF | PJ Tucker |
| Al Horford | C | Bam Adebayo |
ODDS
FiveThirtyEight gives the Heat a 69% chance to win the game.
BROADCAST INFO
TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBATV
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson, Ruth Riley Hunter)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala)
Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!
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