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Friday's playoff game 3 between Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed by 30-minutes after a suspicious package was found outside of the Atlanta State Farm Arena. The third game of the Eastern Conference first-round series was scheduled to begin at 7:15 PM ET, but broadcaster Mile Greenberg informed viewers that tipoff was pushed back by thirty minutes after a suspicious package was found outside of State Farm Arena next to the Dominique Wilkins statue.
The statement released by the Hawk stated, "A suspicious package was found outside Gate 2 of the Arena. Out of an abundance of caution, Gates 1, 2 and 3 were temporarily closed by the Atlanta Police Department while the police department, K-9 units and Arena security worked to clear the area and investigate the contest of the package."However, the content of the package was not found to be explosives, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta Bomb Squad.
Friday marked the first game in the series to be played in Atlanta as the Heat took the first two games at FTX Arena, outscoring the Hawks by an average of 17 points per contest. Miami has won eight of its last nine games dating back to the regular season. Head coach Erik Spoelstra's club earned that No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 record.
This marks their first time with the best record in the conference since LeBron James' final season with the Heat in 2013-14 (54-28). The Hawks turned things on down the stretch after a slow start this season. They went 15-9 and averaged 118 points in 24 games after the All-Star break. They won seven of their last nine games in the regular season to earn a spot in the play-in tournament.