The Miami Heat without, Jimmy Butler & Tyler Herro, handled the Atlanta Hawks, 117-109, at State Farm Arena Saturday night.
Led by Bam Adebayo and spot-starter, Jamie Jaquez Jr., Miami paced this one from start to finish, only trailing Atlanta one-time early in the first. The Heat dominated early, scoring 41 points in the first quarter alone. Miami lead by as many as 21 in the first-half.
Adebayo finished with a robust scoring line of 26 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was a menace early and throughout, hitting tough mid-range jumpers on good defense from Atlanta. The rookie from UCLA, Jaquez Jr., dazzled in his first start with high-IQ play. He ended the night with 20 points and 4 assists.
As they have done in the past, the Heat threw multiple bodies at Hawks’ star, Trae Young, throughout the ball game. Young lamented to that after the ball game.
“They (Miami) don’t switch up too much, they play a certain style, they help a lot and force you to shoot a lot of three’s,” said Young.
Young’s backcourt mate, Dejounte Murray, was able to alleviate some of that stress, on his way to 23 points, while canning five three’s. Young also finished with a hard earned stat-line of 27 points and 11 assists.
The Hawks’ frustrations boiled over a couple times, with a technical on both head coach, Quin Snyder, and Young. Snyder argued a questionable charging-call in the first quarter, as Wes Matthews ran into Heat forward, Kevin Love in the paint. Young was called for one in the third quarter for arguing a non-call by the officials.
Atlanta (5-4) will suit up next against the Detroit Pistons (2-8) up in Detroit for their first taste of the NBA’s new in-season tournament. Tip-off for that game will be at 7:00 p.m. eastern.
