Hawks top Heat, clinch East's No. 1 seed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - DeMarre Carroll scored 24 points, Paul Millsap had 21 and the Atlanta Hawks clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 99-86 win over the Miami Heat on Friday.
Al Horford added 15 points and Dennis Schroder had 12 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, who have won two in a row on the heels of a three-game losing streak.
Atlanta, after clinching the Southeast Division last week, wrapped up the conference's top seed and homecourt throughout the East playoffs with 19 days remaining in the regular season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's been a good for year us," said Millsap. "It's a major accomplishment for us."
Luol Deng scored 17 points to lead the Heat, who finished 1-3 on a four-game road trip. Dwyane Wade (knee) returned to score 13 points but Miami was without Hassan Whiteside (hand) and Chris Andersen (calf) for a second game in a row.
"We're not trying to recapture anything, we are trying to get wins," Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Hawks went 4-0 against Miami this season and have won the last six games between the teams.
They led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and stretched it to 18 by halftime, going into the break with a 55-37 advantage behind 19 points from Carroll and 11 from Millsap.
They led from the start, beginning the game with a 12-3 run keyed by eight points from Carroll. Miami was only as close as five points after that and Atlanta's lead reached double digits for good with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lead was as high as 26 in the third quarter and dipped only as low as 12 in the fourth.
Game Notes
The Hawks shot 51.4 percent and outscored Miami 48-28 in the paint ... The Heat shot just 39 percent ... Atlanta plays Charlotte on the road Saturday ... Miami hosts Detroit on Sunday.