Trae Young made a go-ahead runner in the lane over Jimmy Butler with 4.4 seconds left as the host Atlanta Hawks defeated the Miami Heat 111-110 on Friday to cut their deficit in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series to 2-1.
Atlanta overcame a 21-0, third-quarter run by Miami that gave the Heat a 16-point lead. The eighth-seeded Hawks, who are 21-3 at home since Jan. 17, will aim to level the series against the top-seeded Heat in Game 4 on Sunday in Atlanta.
Young finished with 24 points and eight assists. He made 6 of 14 shots, including 2 of 6 from 3-point range.
Butler, who scored 45 points in Game 2 on Tuesday, finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on Friday. However, he missed two key shots in the final 13 seconds. The first one led to Young’s runner in transition, and the second miss was the game’s final shot.
Bucks 111, Bulls 81
Grayson Allen scored 22 points off the bench and Bobby Portis added 18 points and 16 rebounds as visiting Milwaukee rolled to a victory over Chicago to take a 2-1 lead in a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Giannis Antetokounmpo amassed 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Milwaukee. The Bucks won without Khris Middleton, who is expected to miss the rest of the series after he sprained a left knee ligament in Game 2.
Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points and Zach LaVine added 15 as the Bulls fell short in their first home playoff game since 2017. DeMar DeRozan had just 11 points for Chicago after a 41-point performance in Game 2.
Suns 114, Pelicans 111
Chris Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and also recorded 14 assists without committing a turnover to lead Phoenix to a victory over host New Orleans.
Deandre Ayton added 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting and collected 17 rebounds to help the Suns take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series. Phoenix prevailed despite Devin Booker being sidelined due to a right hamstring injury.
Brandon Ingram recorded 34 points and seven rebounds and CJ McCollum had 30 points and seven assists for the Pelicans. Game 4 is tonight in New Orleans.
—Field Level Media
