Miami Heat romp past Atlanta Hawks 107-87; Big Three on song – NBA Recap
Miami Heat recorded their 9th victory on the road as they annihilated Atlanta Hawks 107-87 at the Philips Arena.
The Hawks who stretched the Heat to three overtimes in a 116-109 loss on Jan. 5 in the absence of injured LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, couldn’t stand a chance this time, with the two stars on the court.
With Chris Bosh on song as well, they had their work cut out.
Dwyane Wade was brilliant on the night as he scored all of his 21 points before halftime. LeBron James posted 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists and to round things off, Bosh, up with a double-double in the first half, ended
the game with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Wade’s brilliant performance in the 1st half provided the impetus for Miami to bank their 21st victory of the season. Mario Chalmers recorded 15 points while Norris Cole had 10.
In the opening quarter, Dwyane netted 8 as Miami went on a 22-2 run, that started at 05:24 and finished off at the end of 1st segment, putting Heat ahead by 30-18 lead. Wade had 13 that included perfect 7 free throw
attempts and LeBron netted 14 in the 2nd frame as Miami continued to rumble and proceeded towards the 3rd quarter with a huge 63-41 lead.
With 21 defensive rebounds in the 1st half, Heat dominated the game as they contained Atlanta to just 5 offensive rebounds. LeBron James praised his team’s performance in the opening half.
"We couldn't have scripted a better start [to the three-games-in-three-days run]. We played Miami Heat basketball . . . we were able to get stops defensively, and transition translates into offense . . . I wanted to rebound tonight
because it enables me to push the tempo.”
Hawks wanted to make up for their poor showing in the first half and came out determined to get back in the game after the interval. Their efforts though remained futile. Atlanta scored 20 but allowed the visitors 25 in the 3rd
quarter. With Miami still in lead, 88-61, the game advanced towards its decisive frame.
Heat went cold in the last quarter, but they already had a comfortable lead. The Hawks could never reduce the huge deficit, and with another 19 points, Heat handed over the 107-87 defeat to Atlanta.
Willie Green and Joe Johnson were the only 2 players with double figure scores for Hawks, scoring 17 and 12 points respectively.
After having a successful 8-1 start at home, Atlanta have lost 4 of their past 5 games in this arena and, ironically, they trailed by 20 points in all the losses.
It was a poor shooting night for Hawks that resulted into their 10th loss of the season - they shot 38.9% from the field.
Tags: