Miami Heat goes on late 10-0 run, beats Atlanta Hawks and gets back to .500
Five takeaways from the Heat’s 109-99 Sunday evening home victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Miami’s sixth consecutive win, one that pulled the Heat back to .500 at 17-17:
▪ The Heat played far better than it typically has without Jimmy Butler this season.
The Heat squandered all of a 14-point second-quarter cushion and all of a seven-point fourth-quarter lead but went ahead for good when Tyler Herro hit two free throws to break a 95-95 tie with 2:41 left. That stopped a 12-5 Atlanta run.
Kendrick Nunn then hit a three and dished to Bam Adebayo for a basket to put the Heat up seven. And when Goran Dragic drained a three to put Miami ahead 10, that essentially settled matters.
Miami, whose zone defense paid dividends late, held Atlanta’s Trae Young 12 points below his 27-point scoring average and overcame a dynamic 34-point night from Atlanta’s John Collins, who scored just one point in the fourth.
Miami entered just 3-9 this season without Butler, who missed the game with right knee inflammation, an issue that Erik Spoelstra described as a “minor thing.”
With Butler on the court this season, the Heat has outscored opponents by 76 points. Without him on the floor, Miami - heading into Sunday - had been outscored by a whopping 139 points.
And there’s this: Even during this 9-3 stretch entering Sunday, the Heat had been outscored by 10.3 points per 100 possessions without Butler.
So Sunday’s showing without Butler was encouraging, and there were strong contributions across the board, including 24 points from Nunn, 16 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, 13 points from Goran Dragic, 14 from Herro and a 14-point, 7-rebound night from Precious Achiuwa.
And don’t overlook a terrific defensive effort from Gabe Vincent, who made two impressive defensive plays (a steal and a block) that were converted into points and chipped in seven points in 17 impactful minutes.
After making just 6 of 26 three-pointers through three quarters, the Heat hit 5 of 11 in the fourth.
Without Butler, Spoelstra went 10 deep and opened the game with Dragic alongside the four who had been starting with Butler: Adebayo, Kelly Olynyk, Nunn and Duncan Robinson. It was Miami’s 17th different starting lineup, third most in the league.
To play this well late without Butler was “big,” Adebayo said.
“Everybody can play on this team,” Dragic said. “Of course we miss Jimmy.”
Meanwhile, the Heat moved to .500 for the first time since Jan. 9.
“It shows some character in that locker room to have daily improvement and not get caught up in everything,” Spoelstra said.
Reaching .500 is a start, but “our main goal was getting above .500,” Adebayo said. “We have got to stay the course and keep getting these Ws.”
▪ Nunn outplayed Trae Young, the NBA’s ninth leading scorer, outscoring him 24 to 15, but Young gave the Heat a scare late.
Not only did Young score 50 points in his last game against the Heat a year ago, but he entered averaging 26.9 points and having scored at least 20 in 18 of his past 19 games.
The Heat made him a non-factor for much of the night before sending him to the line for seven free throws late, with Young making all seven of those.
Young opened 0 for 5 from the field - Nunn was outscoring him 13-0 at one point - and didn’t score until he hit a 30-footer with 2:53 left before halftime. He followed that with another three and went to halftime with six points on 2 for 9 shooting.
Young went scoreless in the first 17-plus minutes of the second half, attempting only one shot before scoring nine over the final six-plus minutes.
The Heat had success trapping Young on some pick-and-rolls. He closed the night 3 for 14 from the field and 2 for 8 on threes but chipped in nine assists and eight rebounds.
“Great scorers make it nightmare for you,” Spoelstra said. “You have to trust a system and each other regardless of what the scheme is. This has taken us some time. At the end of the day, he missed some looks.”
Young said the Heat’s defense was “tricky. They have a bunch of different types of defenses they can switch to during the game. If you’re not aware of it or reading it, you can get out of character during the game.”
Nunn, meanwhile, shot 8 for 15 from the field and 4 for 8 on threes and also dished out seven assists. He also had a steal and a block and continued his good work defensively.
“Defensively he has really helped us,” Spoelstra said. “This has been a year and a half learning our system and being held accountable to that. It really helps, especially against these quick skilled guards. Offensively, he’s in the gym working, watching film.”
Of the defensive effort against Young, Nunn said: “We executed it pretty well. We’ll definitely see a different Trae next game” when the teams meet again Tuesday in Miami.
Nunn agreed that his “overall game” has improved from his first season, when he was second in Rookie of the Year voting. “My preparation is different, my poise, just reading the game, and being able to make plays in the clutch, knocking down shots.”
▪ Achiuwa returned to the rotation and Herro returned, period. Both made an important impact.
Achiuwa responded to his first DNP-CD (did not play/coach’s decision) with one of the two best games of his rookie season.
Displaying nifty footwork around the basket, Achiuwa scored 10 points and hauled in five rebounds and dished out an assist in eight forceful first half minutes.
He added four points and two rebounds in the second half. He suggested he drew no particular motivation from not playing on Friday.
“I’m proud of my young fella,” Adebayo said. “I walked of the court, he walks on it with the same amount of energy.”
Per Stathead and Hoops Habit, Achiuwa is the first player in NBA history to produce 14 points, 7 rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in 12 minutes or less.
“That’s what we want,” Spoelstra said of his energetic play. “We don’t want him to pace. These are short burst of three or four minutes. He really shouldn’t pace.”
Herro, who had missed the past 3 ½ games with a hip contusion, opened 0 for 4 - with two of those shots blocked - and didn’t score until hitting a jumper late in the third quarter.
But he put his fingerprints on the game with a 12-point fourth quarter, including two go-ahead three-pointers and two free throws.
“That shows you the kind of player he is,” Spoelstra said. “The majority of his minutes were out of rhythm offensively. Once it got to six minutes, it clicked. He got his rhythm.”
▪ The Hawks’ starting power rotation of Clint Capela and John Collins got the better of Adebayo and Olynyk statistically, outscoring them 54 to 25. But Adebayo was better than Collins in the fourth.
Collins, the West Palm Beach native who is six months from restricted free agency, was virtually unstoppable, scored 19 in the third quarter and went to the fourth with 31 on 12 for 17 shooting.
But Collins shot just 1 for 4 in the fourth. He finished with 10 boards.
Capela, who entered third in the league in blocks, was aggressive offensively, collecting 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Adebayo victimized Capela on the offensive end early and went to halftime with 10 points but didn’t score again until hitting two free throws with 8:28 left.
Olynyk scored nine points.
▪ Solomon Hill returned to Miami, months after playing 25 minutes for the Heat in the NBA Finals.
Hill - acquired in last February’s Jae Crowder/Andre Iguodala/Justise Winslow deal with Memphis - said the Heat never offered him a contract after last season.
His Heat career ended with 11 regular-season appearances and seven playoff games, including the final three contests of the Eastern Finals and first three of the NBA Finals.
His takeaway from his Heat experience?
“How great a team can be when you have a balanced locker room and respect the game,” he said. “Seeing UD [Udonis Haslem] all the way to Tyler and how well it worked... I loved and feel blessed for my experience to play here and be part of something bigger than myself.”
Hill, who went scoreless in 18 minutes on Sunday, said his new teammate, Rajon Rondo, flashes his Lakers championship ring at him from time to time.
The Heat and Hawks (14-20) meet again on Tuesday in Miami., with the Heat then closing its pre-All Star break schedule on Thursday at New Orleans.
This story was originally published February 28, 2021 at 10:26 PM.
