East Notes: Heat, Hawks, Cavs

Heat

Small forward Duncan Robinson said not to read too much into the blowout win over the Hawks in Game 1 of their playoff series.

“It’s always nice to throw the first punch,” Robinson said. “But in the grand scheme of things, it’s just winning one game.”

Robinson scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting, That included an 8-of-9 showing on 3-pointers. And those eight threes off the bench set a franchise record.

On top of everything else, the Heat suffocated Hawks star Trae Young into 1-of-12 shooting for eight points. It matched his worst performance from the field of his career.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Young said. “They came out aggressive.”

Hawks

Coach Nate McMillan said the Heat set the tone early, and the Hawks spent the rest of the day playing catch-up. The Hawks’ 19-point deficit was their second-largest of the season.

“I thought Miami played at another level,” McMillan said. “We talked about that in our locker room, that in the playoffs, there’s another level you have to get to. … They showed us there’s another level we have to get to in order to compete in these playoffs.”

• For the Hawks, this was quite a difference from last season. They led all three of their playoff series by a 1-0 count last year, winning each on the road. “I’m very confident we’re going to turn this around,” Young said.

Cavaliers

• In case you missed it, the Cavs aren’t hanging their heads after losing two play-in games and failing to make the playoffs. Quite the opposite. “We’re set up to be good for a very long time,” power forward Kevin Love said. “And set up to make potentially some very special runs.”
• Shooting guard Caris LeVert said he hopes to sign a contract extension and remain with the Cavs beyond next season. You can check out that full story here.
• While the Cavs failed to make the playoffs, they at least get to keep their lottery pick, which was protected as part of the LeVert trade with the Pacers. As of now, the Cavs have the No. 14 overall selection. (Full story here.)