Apr 22, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; An announcement on an arena video board before the game between the Miami Heat against the Atlanta Hawks prior to game three of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Heat game vs. the Atlanta Hawks is delayed due to a suspicious package found outside State Farm Arena.
A scary scene has delayed the Miami Heat game vs. the Atlanta Hawks after security investigated a suspicious package found outside the State Farm Arena.
The game was scheduled to tip shortly after 7 p.m. ET but has been pushed back 30 minutes as security investigated the situation. At this time, there is no reason to believe it is a dangerous situation but fans have been cleared out of the arena.
Heat game delayed after suspicious package found outside State Farm Arena
The game between the Heat and Hawks is scheduled to begin play around 7:45 p.m. ET
According to The Athletic’s Chris Kirshner, a package was found outside Gate 2. It’s unclear what tipped off security to investigate the package or what is actually inside the package, but it warranted some gates being closed and an NBA playoff game being delayed as security did a proper investigation.
After conducting an investigation due to an abundance of caution, fans are slowly starting to enter the arena and take their seats ahead of the game between the Hawks and Heat.
After all this, a situation that looked very tense and scary at first has been investigated and the game will begin, albeit a little later than originally scheduled.