A Great Second Quarter
After a high-scoring first quarter, in which each team scored 35+, the Hawks caught absolute fire in the second. The quarter, likely Atlanta’s best of the season, saw the Hawks score 33 while allowing just 14.
The Heat did struggle shooting, but the Hawks defense is well worth crediting. Dewayne Dedmon in particular had a couple of nice defensive plays, and Taurean Prince had a huge block.
The Hawks ended the half on a huge run, and a beautiful three-point heave by Kent Bazemore beat the buzzer to give Atlanta a 16-point halftime lead.
It was a great quarter of team-first ball, and even with the 68 total first half points, no Hawk had double digit points. Trae Young had his usual assisting prowess turned up to 11.
Given how the fourth quarter went tonight (and throughout the season), the 2nd period really won the game for the Hawks tonight.