The Miami Heat concluded their expansive seven-game road trip on Wednesday, January 12, against the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat welcomed back Dewayne Dedmon and Gabe Vincent to the rotation. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo remained sidelined, however, they are both set to return towards the end of the week.
Recap
Battling their division rival, the Heat got off to a sluggish start in the first quarter. Miami found themselves trailing 27-21 at the end of the first, but the Heat never looked back from that point on. Outscoring the Hawks 94-64 in the remaining three frames, the Heat placed a beat down in the final game of their road trip with a final score of 115-91.
Tyler Herro led the Heat in his usual sixth man role. With the Heat’s two best players out, Herro dropped 21 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists. Duncan Robinson came off the bench yet again and continued to shoot triples at an increased rate. In a game where their starters struggled to get anything going, these two sharpshooters came off the bench and led the Heat to their third straight win.
The Heat’s stifling defense held the Hawks to 37.8% shooting from the field and 28.9% on triples. Trae Young, who could be up for an All-Star starting position, had one of his worst games of the season. He finished with 15 points on 15 shots to go along with five assists and four turnovers. Clint Capela’s absence was also notable on the glass. The league’s third-best rebounder was not available to keep Miami’s rookie rebounding sensation, Omer Yurtseven, off the glass.
Up Next
The Heat return home for the first time in 2022. They lace up against the same Hawks team in FTX Arena on Friday, January 14. The Heat will gamble their three-game winning streak against a Hawks team that just dropped their third consecutive game.