After the Bucks and the Wolves, the Hawks signed their third consecutive victory against Miami and thus continue their recovery operation within the Eastern Conference.
In a match that marked the return of Clint Capela, the hosts may have thought they had done the hardest part after managing to take an early advantage following a 9-0 powered by the Young-Williams-Collins trio before the break ( 51-41), then relying on the 3-point missiles of Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Delon Wright to make the hole on the way back from the locker room (81-66).
After a good pass from the Williams-Capela pair marked by an alley-oop between the two players, Atlanta was still turning +15 with 7 minutes remaining, until Miami tried a last run that almost upset everything. .
Led by Duncan Robinson, who cracked four 3-point missiles, the Floridians gradually reduced the gap to return to -1 in the last minute, on the last basket behind the arc of Duncan Robinson (109- 108). With the ball in hand after a big defense, Jimmy Butler then found himself alone in the air to conclude an alley-oop, but his tap finally came out of the circle.
Trae Young’s 1/2 throw gave Jimmy Butler another chance, this time failing from the corner in the dying seconds, leaving the victory to Atlanta (110-108).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A new click? The Hawks seem to have activated the “emergency” mode for three games, with two successes against big fish, including a snatch in the last act against the Bucks and this time a precious victory in pain against the Heat. Even if the whole is still perfectible and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari were still missing last night, this series and this new positive final will clearly allow Nate McMillan’s men to build up confidence for the future.
– PJ Tucker’s turn to fall. Miami also has to deal with injuries. While Atlanta recovered on its side a key player in the person of Clint Capela, subject to restriction of minutes for his return, the Heat meanwhile lost PJ Tucker in the battle. Hit in the knee in the first half, the interior did not come back into play after the break. Another blow for Erik Spoelstra who already has to deal with the absences of Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Trae Young. The leader allowed himself a few solo numbers which ignited the room, but also knew how to make his teammates shine, in the final in particular, to help Atlanta preserve the essentials. His 8 lost balls are clearly a task, but his aggressiveness in attack compensated since 12 of his 28 points were scored on free throws. He also finished as his team’s top passer with 7 assists.
✅ Kevin Hurter. Exactly the kind of “punisher” profile that Trae Young needs by his side. The Atlanta sniper fulfilled his mission perfectly tonight with his 21 points, 5/9 from afar, with a 3-pointer in the “money-time” which helped keep the Hawks’ head above water. .
⛔ Jimmy Butler. The game ended up being close and Jimmy Buckets (13 points at 5/14) failed at the most important moment, when he was alone under the circle to put Miami in front with 20 seconds remaining. , and on a second match point in the final moments of the game. This is the problem when you first want to make your teammates shine as he did by distributing 8 assists, you can end up forgetting yourself.
THE FOLLOWING
Atlanta (20-26): the Hawks are expected in Charlotte this Sunday
Miami (29-17): the Heat will host the Lakers this Sunday
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