After the first half of Tuesday night's Play-in Tournament showdown between the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat, it was clear which of those teams came into the matchup much readier than the other. The Hawks established a considerable lead over the first 24 minutes of the contest, as they were ahead by 15 points, 65-50, heading into the tunnel. The Hawks showed that burning desire to win this game as well on the defensive end of the floor, with Clint Capela even rejecting Jimmy Butler not once but twice already.

Hawks and NBA fans in general are left impressed by Atlanta's rim protection, and it showed in their Twitter reactions.

“Capela block on JimmyđŸ”„đŸ”„#Hawks,” tweeted @YuriyATL.

From @rydirty30: “Hawks having a block party wit “jimmy buckets”

“Damn Hawks doin the Heat like this,” @Sir_JScottESQ said.

Seeing the Hawks convert defensive stops into buckets are also one great way to hype up Atlanta supporters.

“SADIQ 3 FROM A CAPELA BLOCK OH IT'S BEAUTIFUL,” exclaimed Twitter user @CFCUzair.

Capela and Onyeka Okongwu are the top two best rim protectors for the Hawks, and the former is certainly showing why he's still someone that can be relied upon to intimidate opposing players who have intentions of making easy baskets at the rim. Capela finished the 2022-23 NBA regular season with 1.2 blocks per game while Okongwu led the team with 1.3 swats per contests.

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Atlanta's terrific defense limited the Heat to just a 37.8 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from behind the arc.

The winner of this Play-in Tournament matchup will face the Boston Celtics in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

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