ATLANTA — Friday night’s NBA playoff game between the host Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat was delayed for nearly an hour because of a suspicious package found outside State Farm Arena, authorities said.
Game 3 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series, scheduled for a 7 p.m. EDT start, did not tip off until 7:55, the Miami Herald reported. Atlanta, which had lost the first two games of the series, edged Miami 111-110 when play finally began. The Hawks trail the Heat 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
According to the Hawks, the package was found outside Gate 2 of the arena, ESPN reported.
Team officials called the Atlanta Police Department, which used bomb squad dogs to investigate, WSB-TV reported. SWAT teams also went to the arena, according to the television station.
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 22, 2022
“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 Hawks said in a statement. “The contents of the package were not found to be explosive, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta bomb squad.”
Both teams did not take the court for pregame warmups until a few minutes after 7:30 p.m. EDT, the Herald reported.
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