Heat beats Hawks in Jimmy Butler’s debut, but offensive balance carries Miami to win
Jimmy Butler’s first possession as a member of the Miami Heat ended the way the Heat hopes many of them will as long as he remains in Miami. The star wing broke down the Atlanta Hawks in isolation and got to the rim for a layup.
He did the same sort of thing all throughout the first quarter to set the tone for the Heat on Tuesday in Miami. In his first regular-season game with the Heat, Butler led Miami with 12 first-quarter points and started the Heat on its way to a 112-97 win against the Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena, but a collective offense effort powered Miami all the way through 48 minutes.
Butler scored 21. Tyler Herro came off the bench for the first time in his four-game career and scored a career-high 29 points. Goran Dragic, continuing to make the most of his new role as the Heat’s sixth man, added another 21 off the bench. Even Kendrick Nunn shook off an 0-of-4 start to finish with 17 points
The four guards took turns leading the offense and combined to score 88 points.
Butler opened up as the lead playmaker scoring in all the different ways he’s capable. He got to the rim for free throws, hit midrange jump shots, canned a three-pointer and flushed home a transition dunk all before he missed his first shot. Butler opened his Miami career 4 of 4 with 12 points, then went to the bench with Heat (3-1) leading 20-18 in the final three minutes of the first quarter.
For the rest of the half, Miami cycled through its newfound wealth of lead scorers. Dragic took over for the rest of the first quarter, hitting three straight threes after checking in as Miami’s first player off the bench. Once the second quarter began, the guard ceded control to Herro and the rookie shooting guard exploded for 19 points in the period.
The shooting guard exploded in the second, exploding for 19 points in the quarter. Herro, who has positioned himself as a dark-horse Rookie of the Year contender in the last month, did it without leaning on threes, too. He hit two, but scored the bulk of his points on free throws, going 7 of 10 from the line in the period.
The Heat took a 59-49 lead into halftime and stretched it as large as 20 in the second. Atlanta (2-2) lost star point guard Trae Young to an ankle injury in the second quarter and could never dig out of its early hole.
This story was originally published October 29, 2019 at 10:04 PM.
