Heat edge Hawks in OT to take last NBA playoff spot in East

WASHINGTON, United States — Tyler Herro scored 30 points as the Miami Heat reached the NBA playoffs with a thrilling 123-114 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference play-in clash on Friday (Saturday Manila time).

The Heat, who recovered from a 10-game losing streak in March to reach the play-in, will now face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the playoffs.

Miami becomes the first 10th seed to reach the NBA playoffs via the play-in and they did so via two wins on the road having won in Chicago on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).

Miami dominated the opening half, leading by 17 points before going in 62-53 up at the interval. But the Hawks fought back superbly, taking the lead 91-88 with 7:36 left.

Atlanta then opened up a 98-92 advantage before Miami came back again, only for Trae Young to level the game with 1.1 seconds remaining after a driving lay-up.

But the Heat saved their best for last with Davion Mitchell making three three-pointers in overtime and Herro adding two more.

"Two competitive teams, fighting for the last spot in the playoffs. That was exactly what you saw. Both teams were deserving. I loved how my team fought," said Herro.

"Every single run that they made, we answered. And I feel like this entire season has really built us up for this point.

The Cavaliers will start as heavy favorites in the best-of-seven series, which gets underway in Cleveland on Sunday (Monday Manila time).

Young top-scored for Atlanta with 29 points while Onyeka Okongwu finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds.