Atlanta Hawks Fall To Miami Heat 108-90

The Atlanta Hawks returned from the All-Star break with a loss. They fell to the Miami Heat in convincing fashion. What went wrong?

I don’t think that’s how the Atlanta Hawks wanted to begin the playoff push. They returned from the All-Star break Friday night with a rather lackluster effort against the Miami Heat. Losing to the Heat at this point in the season isn’t necessarily a bad loss. The Heat have been a completely different team in 2017.

They have now won 15 of their last 17 games and are emerging as a team that could possibly climb into the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. That being said, Miami shouldn’t blow out the Hawks on their home floor. The Hawks are better than that.

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Of course, Atlanta was missing one of their most important players. Dennis Schroder missed the game after being suspended for failing to report on time after the All-Star break.

Schroder maintained that it was a paperwork issue that made it difficult for him to get back into the country, but he was suspended nonetheless. Schroder will return Saturday night against the Orlando Magic.

Malcolm Delaney struggled as Schroder’s replacement in the starting lineup. Delaney finished the game with five points and four assists on 2-for-10 shooting.

Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha both got minutes at backup point guard, which is not ideal. Schroder’s absence highlighted why the Hawks should have traded for a third point guard at the Trade Deadline.

Old reliable, Paul Millsap, had the best performance for the Hawks. He finished with a team-high 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 11 points and Bazemore ended his night with 10 points as the only other Hawks in double figures.

Sefolosha had two points and three rebounds in his return from injury, while Ersan Ilyasova provided nine points and two rebounds in his first game as a Hawk.

Atlanta shot a dismal 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range. As has been the case in many of their recent blowouts, their defense wasn’t able to bail out their struggling offense.

Miami lit up the scoreboard. The Heat only shot 40.4 percent from the field, but they shot 17-for-37 from three-point distance. Six Miami players finished with at least two made three-pointers. Luke Babbitt led the way with four made threes. It was a balanced offensive effort from the Heat.

Tyler Johnson led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting off the bench. Goran Dragic scored 17 points, Dion Waiters added 14 points, and Rodney McGruder finished with 13 points. Miami took control of the game by outscoring the Hawks by 13 points in the second quarter. That quarter would cement Atlanta’s fate.

In the AP’s game recap on ESPN.com, Kent Bazemore spoke about Miami’s defensive pressure.

"“They put a lot of defensive pressure on us,” said Kent Bazemore, who had 10 points. “We need to sharpen up."

In the same recap, Tyler Johnson spoke about the way Miami shared the ball on offense.

"“We’re starting to make that our identity,” Johnson said. “Everybody feels like they’re in rhythm when everybody’s touching the ball on every possession.”"

The Hawks and Heat won’t play again this season. Their seasons series is over with each team winning two games. Neither team will have a head to head tiebreaker advantage if they somehow finish with the same record at the end of the regular season. It’s unlikely but the streaking Heat make that possibility worth mentioning.

Next: Grading The Ersan Ilyasova Trade

The Hawks won’t have long to wallow in the misery of this loss. They’ll take on the Orlando Magic tonight. Dennis Schroder will return, so hopefully they can move past this disappointing loss by getting a win in Orlando.

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