Takeaways and Player Grades: Hawks Lose An Embarrassing Game at Home vs the Miami Heat

The Hawks lose in embarrassing fashion at home.

Feb 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) dunks against the Miami Heat in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Tonight, the Hawks came into this one for the second game in two nights, playing the night prior, and looked inconsistent and slow. However, let's take a deeper look at how things got this bad for Atlanta tonight against the Miami Heat.

1. Slow offensive stretches

I’m just sad man, I don’t enjoy being a hawks fan anymore, I can’t justify spending money going out to these; they are 10-16 at HOME, HOME, fans deserve better, I want to have a fun team to watch, this is just miserable 70% of the time

— Hutt (@HuttLayth) February 21, 2026

Atlanta's disastrous season at home continues, as they find themselves under 500. at home and fall to Miami at home twice this season. As for the offense, the Hawks posted their lowest first-quarter output of the season, scoring just 16 points and shooting 38% from the field for the game. However, the Hawks' offense benefited from McCollum, who scored 20 points off the bench and made things much easier for stretches of the game, including Alexander-Walker, who scored 20, and Okongwu, who scored 22. There were moments in the second and third quarters when Atlanta looked like they were fighting back, but unfortunately, they would fall just short, losing by 30 and going cold.

2. Defense inconsistent

Normmm 👌 pic.twitter.com/8cNSSiEkqA

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 21, 2026

The embarrassing part of this loss for Atlanta is the fact that the defense was terrible. The Hawks would lose by a big margin of 31 points, and the Heat had Tyler Herro return to score 24 points off the bench, as well as making 13 three pointers as a team, to go along with 74 points given up inside the paint. While the Hawks did come off a back-to-back, there is still no excuse to play this poorly, as the Hawks are fighting for a playoff spot and every game counts to them, possibly being in or out of the Play-In Tournament.

3. Jalen Johnson continues his video game output

JJ is up to 16 PTS, 16 REB, & 11 AST 🔥

His East-leading 11th triple-double of the season! pic.twitter.com/HVu3taYkcW

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 21, 2026

After a statement game and a win last night, Johnson continues to put up huge numbers as he finished the night with his 11th triple-double of the season. While things didn't go all that great for Johnson and the Hawks, this is still worth noting, as this was one of the few bright spots for Atlanta.

Player Grades

Feb 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) grabs a rebound against the Miami Heat in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Jalen Johnson: B-

Stats: 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists

Again, while this performance was impressive by Johnson as he put up a triple-double after a double-double performance last night, this still doesn't tell the whole story, as he shot the ball poorly. He finished the game shooting 27% from the field after shooting 6/22, turned the ball over three times, and finished with a -14 plus minus.

CJ McCollum: B+

Stats: 20 points, two rebounds, and one assist

While there really isn't much for McCollum to do on the court besides score, he did his job again tonight and efficiently, as he shot 50% from the field and 50% from three-point range coming off the bench.

Onyeka Okongwu: B

Stats: 22 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks

Okongwu put up a well-rounded performance tonight and made his presence felt offensively with his 22 points. This was a nice bounce-back performance for him after a quieter night in Philly, quieter where he scored only 8 points. Tonight, Okongwu shot the ball well, going 66% from the field and 80% from three-point range.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: C+

Stats: 20 points, three rebounds, and three assists

While Alexander-Walker scored well, he didn't really contribute as much as we normally see him do defensively, as Miami had multiple guards score in double figures. He also finished the night with no steals or blocks, another indicator of the defensive struggles Alexander-Walker faced, and turned the ball over three times.