The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Miami Heat, 109-131, on Wednesday night at the Kaseya Center. On Monday in Atlanta, the Heat shot 7-40 from beyond the arc, their worst three-point shooting performance of the season. In the rematch, Miami found the range and stayed hot all game, shooting 23-42 (54%) from deep. The Heat had four players hit at least four threes on the night, led by Duncan Robinson’s six and Davion Mitchell’s five. Atlanta finished a respectable 12-32 from downtown, and even destroyed the Heat in paint points, 54-32. However, when any team loses the three-point battle by 33, it will be tough to win in today’s NBA.
Both teams started strong in the first quarter. The Hawks hit four of their first five threes, and Miami converted 9-12 from the field. The home team took a 19-12 lead after a 7-0 run, including back-to-back threes from Tyler Herro. Atlanta punched back with its own 7-0 run from Caris LeVert and Georges Niang later in the frame. Haywood Highsmith gave Miami a 29-28 advantage to end the first quarter with two offensive rebounds and a three. Both teams could have put up higher scoring numbers, but the Heat had six turnovers and the Hawks had five.
After Atlanta took a five-point lead early in the second quarter, Miami went on a 13-0 run, capitalizing off a couple of Hawks’ miscues. Robinson led his team with 14 points in just six minutes, all coming in this frame, for a 53-42 Heat lead. However, after Terance Mann provided a spark off the bench with a poster dunk over Herro, the Hawks went on an 11-3 stretch to tie the contest at 68 heading into halftime. Atlanta shot 65% in the frame. Both benches were rolling. The Hawks had 27 points, while Miami got 25 from its reserves.
To start the second half, Trae Young scored eight quick points, getting into the Heat’s paint whenever he wanted. As a result, Head Coach Erik Spoelstra instructed Miami to go switch to a zone defense, and it worked. Atlanta had trouble finding open lanes to the rim, while Miami continued its masterful three-point shooting. Mitchell, normally known for his defense, did not miss in the frame. He went 4-4 from the field with three triples for 12 points, and the Heat blew the game open with a 19-4 run to end the frame with a 107-93 lead. The Hawks never fully recovered in the final frame after Miami’s scoring burst. They cut the deficit to 106-121 with five minutes left, but a 10-3 Miami run to close the game sealed their fate.
Atlanta scored 44 points in the second half, including just 16 in the fourth quarter. Dyson Daniels led his squad with 18 points on 8-10 shooting, and LeVert scored 17 with three triples. Young struggled for 17 points (4-12 FG) and eight assists.
Miami had four 20-point scorers for the contest. Bam Adebayo and Mitchell totaled 20 points each, while Robinson finished with 24 points and six assists. Herro added 24 points with 10 assists.
The Hawks’ schedule does not get any easier from here. They travel back home to face the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
