Game 3 between Hawks, Heat delayed after suspicious package found outside State Farm Arena
Friday's tipoff between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat was delayed due to a "security issue" at Atlanta's State Farm Arena, the Heat, Hawks and NBA announced.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series was scheduled to begin on ESPN at 7:15 p.m. ET, but broadcaster Mike Greenberg informed viewers that tipoff was pushed back by 30 minutes after a suspicious package was found outside of State Farm Arena next to the Dominique Wilkins statue.
"A suspicious package was found outside Gate 2 of State Fame Arena," the Hawks said in a statement posted to Twitter. "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 contents of the package.
"The contents of the package were not found to be explosive, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta Bomb Squad."
The game was rescheduled to tip off at 7:45 p.m. ET, but the NBA pushed the start time back even further to 7:55 p.m. ET to allow players to properly warm up.
The Hawks thanked fans on Twitter for their patience during the delay.
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The game is pivotal for the Hawks. The No. 1 seed Heat lead the series 2-0 and the No. 8 seed Hawks are looking to get on the board on their home court. The Hawks won two consecutive play-in games to advance to the NBA playoffs.