Trae Young Leads Atlanta Hawks to No. 7 Seed in East With Win Over Miami Heat in Play In

• The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Miami Heat in the Play-In opener
• The Hawks took the seventh seed in the East with the win
• Trae Young helped Atlanta book a spot in the playoffs

Bring on Boston.

That’s the next stop for the Atlanta Hawks, who took the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night.

They secured that playoff spot by beating the Miami Heat 116-105 on the road in the Play-In opener.

The Hawks raced to a 15-point lead after one half and turned the Heat away repeatedly to earn a matchup with No. 2 seed Boston in a series that starts Saturday.

Young leads Hawks in win

Six players scored in double figures for the Hawks in the all-important win.

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Trae Young stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 25 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out seven assists, per ESPN. He shot 8 of 18 from the field and made eight of his nine free throws.

Young struggled with his outside shot, though, going just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.

His backcourt partner Dejounte Murray also contributed, finishing with 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

Atlanta's bench steps up

It was Atlanta’s reserves, however, who powered the Hawks’ victory. They combined for 53 points against the Heat. They outscored Miami’s bench by 16 points.

Saddiq Bey scored 17 points on 7 of 17 shooting from the field. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson completed the cast, dropping 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Atlanta holds off Miami rally

The win did not come easy for the Hawks, who saw their lead whittled down to six points with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after a 13-4 run by the Heat.

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The Hawks responded with a 5-0 run to extend the lead back to 11 points. The Heat did not threaten after that, with Atlanta cruising to the easy win.

Miami is still alive

All is not lost for the Heat, who still have one last chance of making the playoffs.

They will face the winner of the Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors matchup in a knockout game to determine who will advance as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The good news for the Heat is that Kyle Lowry is back playing some excellent basketball for them. He scored 33 points in the loss to the Hawks. That was his highest-scoring game in a Miami uniform.

Collins compares Young to Steph

Sports Brief recently reported on fans roasting John Collins for comparing Young to Stephen Curry.

Collins claimed Young is a better playmaker and isolation scorer than the Golden State Warriors legend.

That statement didn't sit well with Curry's fans, who blasted Collins for his controversial comparison.