The Miami Heat made a run to start the third quarter. The Atlanta Hawks closed it out with a jam.
Onyeka Okongwu threw down an alley-oop to restore Atlanta’s 13-point halftime lead to end the third quarter of the Hawks’ play-in win. It was emblematic of the entire game, where the Hawks dominated the paint all the way through. Atlanta had 22 offensive rebounds to Miami’s six, and 63 total rebounds to Miami’s 39.
A big part of that paint dominance was a result of Okongwu’s defense. He had four blocks, delivered in a variety of ways. He swallowed up All-Star Bam Adebayo with a two-handed block in the lane, forcing a jump ball (which he won).
Okongwu also showed incredible range by prowling out to the perimeter and stuffing a three-point attempt from Max Strus.
And when Okongwu wasn’t sending back shots, it was Clint Capela, who also pulled down a whopping 21 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive end.
Atlanta will be heavy underdogs against the Boston Celtics, but this interior dominance gives a template for how the Hawks could pull the upset against the often-undersized Celtics.
