ATLANTA — Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry suffered a left hamstring injury in the third quarter of the Hawks’ 111-110 Game 3 victory on Friday night.
He could only watch from the bench as Atlanta, the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed, erased a double-digit deficit to draw within 2-1 of the No. 1-seeded Heat in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
“I’m pissed the f— off,” Lowry told ESPN as he walked out of State Farm Arena after the game with a noticeable limp.
Lowry told ESPN he planned to undergo round-the-clock treatment leading up to Sunday’s Game 4. When asked if the injury could cause him to miss any time as the series moves forward, he brushed off any concern.
“No, I’m Wolverine,” Lowry said with a wry smile, referencing the X-Men comic book character known for his super-human healing powers.
Lowry exited the game with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter and the Heat ahead by 13 points. He did not return.
The Hawks finished the quarter on a 6-1 run and then outscored Miami 34-25 in the fourth to close things out with a three-guard lineup of Trae Young (10 of his 24 points in the fourth), Bogdan Bogdanovic (nine of his 18 points in the fourth) and Delon Wright (five of his 13 points in the fourth).
“All I know right now is it’s a hamstring,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game when asked about Lowry. “But I do not know the severity of it and we’ll find out more tomorrow.”
Lowry had only six points on 2-for-7 shooting and five assists in Game 3, but registered a team-best plus-minus of plus-18 in the 23 minutes he was on the court.
The Heat had 25 assists on their first 31 baskets through the first three quarters (80.6%) but assisted on just five of 10 field goals in the fourth quarter with Lowry out as the Miami offense devolved to several long jump shots down the stretch.
“I know we love that guy as our point guard,” said Jimmy Butler, who had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists but missed a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer. “If he’s with us, yippee-ki-yay. If he’s not, somebody has got to step in and do his job.
“It’s very, very hard to do. But we got enough in that locker room to try to bring to the table what Kyle does. He’ll get his treatment and we’ll see where he’s at.”