MIAMI (AP) — Duncan Robinson set a franchise playoff record with eight 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat forced Trae Young into matching the worst-shooting game of his career on the way to a 115-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.
Robinson scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting for the Heat, 8 of 9 from 3-point range. Jimmy Butler scored 21, P.J. Tucker added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 10.
Young went 1 for 12, matching his effort against Chicago on Jan. 23, 2019.
Danilo Gallinari led Atlanta with 17 points. De'Andre Hunter scored 14 for the Hawks and John Collins added 10.
Game 2 is Tuesday.
Robinson broke the record of seven 3s that he previously shared with Damon Jones and Mike Miller.
He couldn't miss. The Hawks, well, they couldn't make.
Young was 0 for 7 from 3-point range and finished with just eight points, a season-low. Bogdan Bogdanovic missed all eight of his shots, and the Hawks never led outside of a brief edge in the opening minutes.
Butler revealed the Heat game plan when it comes to defending Young: “Just make it physical on him, challenge every shot, keep him off the free throw line and make him pass," he said.
It worked.
Atlanta went 3-0 in Game 1s last year, all three of those wins on the road, coming by two, four and three points, respectively.
That was then.
This was one-sided by halftime. The Heat set the tone by forcing Atlanta into a 1-for-11 start from the field — free throws were the only thing keeping the game close for much of the first half — and Miami took a 59-40 lead into the break.
A 3-pointer from Kevin Huerter early in the second got Atlanta within 26-20. A 15-6 Heat run, capped by a 3-pointer from Lowry, pushed the lead out to 41-26, and
Read more on tsn.ca
tsn.ca
