Heading into game five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals it seemed like the Atlanta Hawks had a legitimate chance of staying alive in their first round playoff series versus the Miami Heat. That is because the Heat’s top scorer, Jimmy Butler, was not going to play Tuesday because of a knee injury, and the Heat’s top playmaker Kyle Lowry was out with a hamstring injury.
However, the depth of the Heat were able to come to the forefront and shine in south Florida on Tuesday. As a result, Miami defeated Atlanta 97-94 to win the Eastern Conference first round playoff series four games to one.
Victor Oladipo of Silver Spring, Maryland, scored 23 points to lead Miami, while Bam Adebayo of Newark, New Jersey had a double-double as he had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Three more Heat players reached double digits in scoring. Tyler Herro of Greenfield, Wisconsin had 16 points, Max Strus of Hickory Hills, Illinois had 15 points, and Caleb Martin of Winston-Salem, North Carolina had 10 points.
Where do the Heat go now? Well, they await the winner of the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors fell behind early in the series as they lost the first three games. However it is Toronto that has all the momentum now. They were victorious in game four, 110-102, and then won game five too, 103-88.
Miami meanwhile is the second team so far to qualify for the Conference Semifinals. They are joined by the Boston Celtics, who swept the Brooklyn Nets four games to none on Monday.
