Heat at Hawks
The Miami Heat have moved atop the Eastern Conference and look to take another step toward clinching the top seed when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Miami played a solid second half while knocking off Indiana on Friday to move a half-game ahead of the Pacers with three games remaining. Atlanta has a two-game lead over the New York Knicks for the final spot in the East and can claim a playoff berth with a victory.
The Hawks notched a pivotal 93-88 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday to move closer to clinching a berth. Paul Millsap had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Teague added 22 points as Atlanta won for the fourth time in five games. Miami scored the first 16 points of the second half to take control in the 98-86 win over the Pacers. LeBron James scored 36 points and is averaging 34.8 points over the last five games with a low of 29.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE HEAT (54-25): Miami players had been claiming that landing the No. 1 seed wasn’t all that important to them. The tune changed after they beat the Pacers. “We know what’s going on out there,” center Chris Bosh told reporters. “We know what’s going to happen. We’re in the middle of trying to put everything together for ourselves and I think (Friday) was a good step forward for us.” After visiting the Hawks, Miami plays at Washington on Monday and hosts lowly Philadelphia in Wednesday’s regular-season finale.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (36-43): Atlanta has recovered nicely after a stretch in which it lost 21 of 28 games. The Nets had won a franchise-record 15 consecutive home games before the desperate Hawks ended that streak with a well-timed solid performance. “It says a lot about our team, says a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish here,” Millsap told reporters. “The focus that it took to lock in, compete and to get this win, it says a lot. Guys want to win, guys want to try to make this push.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami has won two of this season’s three meetings but the Hawks posted a 121-114 home win on Jan. 20.
2. Heat G Dwyane Wade (hamstring) is expected to miss his 10th straight game.
3. Atlanta was just 1-of-19 from 3-point range against Brooklyn and sharpshooter Kyle Korver missed all five of his attempts.