Miami Heat staying wary of Trae Young despite stifling Atlanta Hawks in Game 1

MIAMI — The Heat's defense might have suffocated Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young all game in Sunday's 115-91 Game 1 win of their first round series, but the East's No. 1 seed knows it can't expect Young and the eighth-seeded Hawks to go quietly.

«He's going to score the ball,» Heat forward P.J. Tucker said of Young. «That's one game. You look at it as that. Treat him the exact same way the next game. Expect him to take a lot more shots and be a lot more aggressive so we got to bring that same type of energy and even more. Because he'll be better.»

After averaging 31 points in Atlanta's two play-in wins to earn the No. 8 spot, Young was bottled up on Sunday as he scored a career playoff low 8 points on 1-for-12 shooting (0-for-7 from 3) and had more turnovers (six) than assists (four). His 8.3% shooting mark was tied for the worst field goal percentage of his career — including regular season and playoffs — according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Hawks scored the first three points of the game but it was all Heat from there, with Miami leading by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter. Hawks coach Nate McMillan, cognizant of the quick turnaround from Friday's play-in win in Cleveland to Sunday's 1 p.m. local tipoff in Miami, pulled Young with two minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter and kept him on the bench the rest of the game.

«Miami played at another level,» McMillan said. «We have to get to another level. There is another level of intensity where you are locked in on winning every possession. We have to execute and value every possession in these games.» +

The Heat sounded convinced that they will see a better version of Young in Tuesday's Game 2.

«Listen, he's going to make more than one