The Miami HEAT defeated the Atlanta Hawks 100-88 Monday night at Philips Arena. Chris Bosh led the way for the HEAT with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
1. Goran Dragic Takes Control
From the start on Monday night, Dragic looked like a man possessed. Early on, the Slovenian relentlessly attacked the basket and was very aggressive. He also displayed good court vision and looked to set up his teammates.
A good example of Dragic’s strong start came with 5:40 left in the first quarter when he faked a dribble handoff to Dwyane Wade. Instead, the point guard blew past Jeff Teague and finished the nifty reverse layup even though Kyle Korver and Mike Muscala were there to contest.
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In the first half alone, Dragic had 10 points and four assists on 5-of-9 shooting. His ability to convert over taller defenders is really what makes him tough to defend. Speaking of tough, Dragic came back in the game despite cracking his tooth in the third quarter. In all, the 29-year-old had 12 points, eight assists and seven boards against the Hawks.
2. Bosh and Gerald Green Bring It Home
With the HEAT up double-digits entering the fourth quarter, Green made sure to keep Miami ahead. The vet hit a barrage of jumpers on his way to an 11-point period. He also converted an and-one thanks to a clever shot-fake. He understands that teams are going to close out aggressively on him, so he’s been taking advantage of that recently. On the flip side of the ball, Green continued to show his commitment to the defensive end and forced a few turnovers on Atlanta. In total, the swingman tallied 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Bosh, meanwhile, was simply on-point from long range and put a lot of pressure on the defense. He scored seven of his team-high 24 points in the fourth, with none as vital as a dunk he had with about four minutes to go in the game.
On that play, Luol Deng grabbed a defensive rebound off a Teague miss and gave it to Dragic. Dragic pushed the ball up court and rifled it up ahead to Bosh for the two-handed jam.
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Bosh shot a very efficient 8-of-14 from the field, including an unreal 4-of-6 from downtown. He also crashed the boards well and nabbed 10 rebounds to go along with his 24 points.
3. Defense is Key
The HEAT did very well against one of the better offensive teams in the league, as it held the Hawks to just 39.3 percent shooting for the game. As been the case for the past few contests, Deng was quite active on both ends. In fact, he drew two charges in the fourth quarter, including a huge one on Kent Bazemore as Atlanta was trying to mount a comeback down the stretch.
Hassan Whiteside was also big on the defensive end, as he altered plenty of shots at the rim. As a whole, the HEAT rotated quickly to contest outside shots. When you pair that with Whiteside’s presence down low, you have a recipe for success.
Deng finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Whiteside, on the other hand, totaled eight points, 13 boards and three blocks on the night.
Other Takeaways:
-After scoring six points against the Grizzlies on Sunday night, Beno Udrih came through once more against the Hawks. The guard tallied nine points and an assist on 3-of-5 shooting and looked more comfortable with the HEAT’s system. His contribution was very important with Tyler Johnson out once more with a strained shoulder.
Game Notes:
-Wade passed Eddie Johnson for 47th on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list.
-Johnson (strained shoulder) and Josh McRoberts (bruised knee) sat out. Jarnell Stokes (assigned to Sioux Falls) was also inactive.
