The Hawks advance to face the Miami Heat, the top team in the Eastern District, in a series of first round playoffs that starts on Sunday in Miami. Young, the Hawks’ All-Star general, led his team to 38 points, including 30 in the second half and 15 in the fourth quarter alone.
Young shot 4 of 11 from a range of 3 points and drilled several shots that helped the Hawks maintain their lead slowly. Added nine assists. The Hawks took their first lead at the end of the third quarter with a three-pointer by Yang, who scored 16 points in the fourth, helping his team overcome the deficit of 14 points. The Cavaliers took a double-digit lead in the first quarter behind a 3-point hot shot from Laurie Markanen, who scored 17 points in the first half and sank 5 to 8 from the 3-point range before the break. Markanen led the Cavaliers with 26 points and Darius Garland added 21. Cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen is back in the starting line-up after losing 19 games with a broken left finger. Allen had not played since March 6, but finished with 11 points and three rebounds. The Hawks lost the Capella in the first half when the Cavaliers center, Evan Mobly, fell on Capella’s knee. Capela had to be helped off the field with what the Hawks later called an extended right knee. His availability against the Heat is not clear.
