MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points, including a personal 7-0 run in the final moments, and the Miami Heat held off the Atlanta Hawks 115-105 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Tuesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 15 for Miami, while Max Strus scored 14 and Gabe Vincent added 11 for top-seeded Miami, which took a 2-0 lead over the eighth-seeded Hawks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta. Trae Young scored 25 for the Hawks.
In other playoff action:
— Brandon Ingram scored 37 points, CJ McCollum added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the top-seeded Phoenix Suns 125-114 in Game 2, evening the series in their Western Conference first-round matchup. Not only did the Suns lose the game, but they’re unsure about the health status of All-Star guard Devin Booker. Booker was spectacular in the first half with 31 points before leaving with right hamstring tightness in the third quarter. The Pelicans earned their first playoff win since 2018.
— Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA’s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96. That evens up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece. Morant finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
