The Atlanta Hawks came back from a win in Mexico City, only to be embarrassed at home in State Farm Arena, as the visiting Miami Heat beat the Hawks 109-117.
The Hawks led only once, in the first few minutes of the game, from that point the 5-4 Heat took over and built a lead that the Hawks could never overcome no matter how hard they tried. Miami led by as many as 21 points in the middle of the second quarter.
The Hawks collectively shot 43.7%, while the Heat went 48.8% on their shots. Miami led in points in the paint (48-36) and second-chance points (14-11). The Hawks did lead in three-pointers (39% to 31%), but couldn’t do enough to beat the Heat.
Trae Young scored the most points of any Hawk, 27, with 11 assists. He was 7 of 19 in his shots and 3 of 9 in 3-pointers. Clint Capella got 12 rebounds.
The Heat’s Bam Adebayo was their point leader, with 26 points on the night. He was 9 of 12 in his shots.
The 5 -4 Hawks go on the road to play an in-season tournament game against the 2-8 Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
