DANILO GALLINARI

Marcus Smart has been in Boston long enough to appreciate what Bill Russell meant to the Celtics, the city and the country.

Zach LaVine is staying in Chicago.

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the Atlanta Hawks 97-94.

Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami 111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s series lead to 2-1.

Game 1s brought greatness out of some.

Duncan Robinson set a Miami 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.

Trae Young scored 32 of his 38 points in the second half and the Atlanta Hawks overcame losing center Clint Capela to a knee injury to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-101 in the play-in and earn the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 playoff seed.

The Cavaliers are getting a second shot at getting into the playoffs.

Trae Young bounced back from a sluggish start to score 24 points and De’Andre Hunter led a third-quarter surge that carried the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-103 play-in rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

Trae Young scored 36 points, including nine points in the final minute, and the streaking Atlanta Hawks overcame Kevin Durant’s career-high 55 points to hold off the Brooklyn Nets 122-115 for their fifth consecutive win.

DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points while extending an NBA-record streak, and the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls squeezed by the Atlanta Hawks 112-108.

Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta’s Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks.

Kemba Walker became the seventh NBA player with a triple-double on Christmas, and the New York Knicks beat the depleted Atlanta Hawks 101-87 for their first win on the holiday in a decade.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says there are no plans to pause the season, even as numbers of players entering the league’s health and safety protocols related to the coronavirus continues to rise.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, including a go-ahead jumper midway through the fourth quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-105.

Cam Reddish scored 20 points, Trae Young added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 113-87 rout of the Mavericks to ruin the debut of Dallas coach Jason Kidd.

Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points and Italy was plus-19 with him on the court, the Italian forward one of five players in double digits for the victors.

Brook Lopez scored a playoff career-high 33 points and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence and beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 on Thursday to regain the lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Finally, Trae Young ran into someone he couldn’t beat.

Khris Middleton scored 20 of his playoff career high-tying 38 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 113-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks for a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points, Jrue Holiday added 22 and the Milwaukee Bucks blew out the Atlanta Hawks 125-91 to even the Eastern Conference finals at a game apiece.

John Collins is set to play a key role for the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Philadelphia 76ers face an uncertain future after an early exit in the playoffs.

Seth Curry hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points and the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinal series by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 on Friday night.

Trae Young scored 39 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-106 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Atlanta Hawks will attempt to extend their 13-game home winning streak when they play the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

Joel Embiid had 40 points and 13 rebounds and Shake Milton buried a 32-footer and scored 14 points in an electrifying stretch off the bench to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 118-102.

Philadelphia, Utah and Atlanta can reach the second round.

Trae Young scored 27 points, John Collins added 22 despite a smack to the lip and the Hawks frustrated Julius Randle and the New York Knicks once again.

Shaking off a spitting incident at Madison Square Garden, Trae Young dazzled in the first home playoff game of his career.

The Atlanta Hawks spent three miserable years totally rebuilding their team, all with the idea of finally making a big move this season.

Clint Capela scored 18 points to lead seven scorers in double figures and the Atlanta Hawks pulled away late to overcome Devin Booker’s 30 points and beat the Phoenix Suns 135-103.

Carmelo Anthony looked like he was done just a couple of seasons ago.

Trae Young scored 42 points, Clint Capela had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a sizzling performance by Zach LaVine to beat the Chicago Bulls 120-108.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, top, is fouled by Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari (8) as he goes to the basket in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – Anthony Davis scored 25 points and LeBron James dominated down the stretch as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out a nearly two-week trip with a 107-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Los Angeles went 5-2 while playing seven road games in 12 days, certainly looking like the fresher team in the closing minutes against the Hawks. AdAtlanta appeared to be taking control, ripping off eight straight points late in the third for a 76-70 lead. ... Los Angeles has won eight of its last nine meetings against Atlanta.

Deni Avdija, the ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft, scored 15 points for the Wizards. Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points and De’Andre Hunter added 15 for Atlanta, which made 17 3-pointers. Aaron Gordon scored 15 points and Nikola Vucevic had 14 for Orlando. Alec Burks finished with 15 points for New York, which defeated the Pistons on Friday. Gary Trent Jr. scored 17 points, Derrick Jones Jr. scored 15 and CJ McCollum added 13 for the Trail Blazers.

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford talks to players during a timeout in the first half of the team's NBA preseason basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Atlanta. The NBA preseason — a truncated 49-game, nine-day sprint — opened Friday with a five-game slate, action returning to NBA arenas for the first time in exactly nine months. 8 pick Obi Toppin of the Knicks, got their first NBA minutes. Paul George had 10 for the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard managed three in 14 minutes. Both teams shot exactly 30 for 84 from the field, and none of the Clippers' starters logged even 15 minutes.

For the first time in his long career, Rondo is the oldest guy on the team. “To be honest, I’ve been doing that for the last five or six years of my career,” Rondo said. I've been working to understand young talent, understand the (collective bargaining agreement). This is a young team with so much upside and versatility. ... We're on the the upswing for great things here in the city of Atlanta.”His future career can wait.

The Rockets pulled out a tense final game of the first round that lasted long past the final basket as replays and fouls were sorted out. These are the games, you want to win a championship or win playoff games, you've got to do it with your heart, D'Antoni added. Covington had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Eric Gordon also scored 21 points for the Rockets. Rockets: Houston is 7-5 in Game 7s, including 1-1 under D'Antoni. The Rockets had lost their two other Game 7s in the first round, against Utah in 2007 and Dallas in 2005.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Dennis Schroder (17) is forced to pass the ball as Houston Rockets' Russell Westbrook, bottom center, Jeff Green (32) and P.J. Paul gave the Thunder at least one more game at Disney, scoring 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter for a 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night in Game 6 of a Western Conference first-round series. But they combined for 12 of the Rockets' 22 turnovers, saying Houston has lost the close games more than Oklahoma City won them. Houston got its most dominant playoff victory in Game 5, winning 114-80 after holding Oklahoma City to 31.5% shooting. Oklahoma City extended it to eight, but Houston wiped that out with an 18-4 run that provided a 98-92 lead.

Houston All-Star Russell Westbrook, who played his previous 11 years with the Thunder, was out with a quad injury. Jeff Green scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added 21 for Houston, which isn't sure how long it will be without Westbrook. Chris Paul, who joined the Oklahoma City in the trade that sent Westbrook to Houston, finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Gordon scored 16 points and Harden had 15 in the first half to help the Rockets take a 68-52 lead. Oklahoma City cut its deficit to 10 at one point in the third quarter, but the Rockets pulled away and led 104-83 heading into the fourth.

Oklahoma City pulled even with Houston for the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture with five games left. Los Angeles, which has already clinched the top seed in the West and the Pacific Division title, never held a lead for the first time all season. Los Angeles dropped two games behind Milwaukee for the NBA's best overall record, which won't provide a real home-court advantage in the NBA Finals this year. Dion Waiters scored 14 points for the Lakers, whose poor perimeter shooting in the bubble still hasn't been fixed. ... Los Angeles got a scare in the third quarter when Paul elbowed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the ribs, forcing Caldwell-Pope to leave the game.

The games start Thursday night at Walt Disney World, and here's 10 things to know as the season enters its restart phase. SHORTER SEASONIf all the seeding games get played, then this NBA season would include 1,059 games a drop of 171 from what was planned when the season began. Its now on pace for somewhere around 25,700 3-pointers which would be just shy of the second-most in a season in NBA history. That would be the record; the NBA had 12 teams finish there in the 2009-10 season. REDICKS STREAKNew Orleans guard JJ Redick has played 13 previous NBA seasons, going to the playoffs in all of them.

Los Angeles Clippers' Paul George (13) reacts after hitting a 3-point shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Los Angeles. Chris Paul made two free throws after being fouled by George for an 88-86 lead, but Georges 3 put Los Angeles back ahead 89-88. Harrell scored eight straight points to give Los Angeles an 86-83 lead. All of those things will get better for him as the season goes on.COMING HOMEPaul hasnt left Los Angeles completely. UP NEXTThunder: At the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in the second game of a local back-to-back at Staples Center.