Tyler Herro Scores 36 Points And Miami Outshoots Atlanta in 122-112 Win Over The Hawks

After a failed comeback attempt on Tuesday night against Houston, Atlanta found themselves in a similar position tonight against the Miami Heat and once again, the Hawks 4th quarter comeback attempt failed and Atlanta lost their second straight game.

It was a fast start for the Hawks, quickly getting up double-digits, but the middle quarters of the game for the Hawks are where it was lost for the Hawks. A 31-3 run for the Heat and the fact that after the first quarter, Miami shot 16-24 from three. The Hawks could not match the Heat's firepower and lost 122-112 on the road tonight, dropping them to 35-38 this season. Miami tied the season series with the win tonight and is now just three games behind the Hawks for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. With the Orlando Magic losing to Dallas tonight, Atlanta remains in 7th, but just barely.

It was a solid night for guys like Trae Young (29 points and 12 assists) and Caris LeVert (17 points, five rebounds, and three assists), but the Hawks could not find anyone else to step up on that end of the floor. It was a really tough night for Zaccharie Risacher, who scored just five points. Dyson Daniels scored only nine points, Georges Niang had five, and Dominick Barlow had four points and two rebounds. Terance Mann ended with 14 points, but nine of those were in the second half. Overall, it was just not a good game for the Hawks on that end of the floor.

The defense was not great either. Miami shot 54% from the field and 55% from three tonight. Tyler Herro scored 36 points tonight and shot 13-17 from the field. Miami had six other players score in double-digits and finished with a 67% true shooting percentage.

The Hawks will have two days off before the face the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. The play-in race in the Eastern Conference continues to tighten up and the Hawks could end up anywhere from 7 to 10.

The Hawks made a change tonight in their starting lineup. Vit Krejci started in place of Mouhamed Gueye and was surrounded by Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu.

The Hawks got off to a fast start in this game. After a poor offensive start vs Houston on Tuesday, Atlanta led 12-2 at the first timeout with 8:21 left in the first quarter and hit five of their first seven shots while holding the Heat to 1-8 from the floor. The Hawks offense, led by Young, continued to roll against the tough Miami defense and Young made NBA history in the first quarter of tonight's game. Young became the youngest player in NBA history to score 12,000 career points and have 4,500 career assists.

Young and the Hawks led Miami 32-22 after the first quarter and were shooting 52% from the field and 46% from three. The Heat were shooting just 35% from the field and 22% (2-9) from three.

The Heat's three point shooting turned around quickly in the second quarter though. They hit their first four three-point shots and opened the quarter on a 19-9 run to tie the game at 41-41 with 7:02 left in the first half. Andrew Wiggins (eight points) and Bam Adebayo (6) combined for 14 of the Heat's first 19 points in the quarter.

As the saying goes, basketball is a game of runs. The Hawks went on a 10-2 run after the Heat tied the game and led 51-43, but then Miami responded with a run of their own. The Heat closed on a 17-4 run to take a five point lead in the half and while the Hawks were up double-digits early, the Heat outscored them 38-23 in the second quarter to lead 60-55 at the break.

In the second quarter, Atlanta shot 41% from the field and 30% from three. Miami was fantastic on offense, shooting 62% from the field and 75% (6-8) from three. Herro led the Heat with 14 points, Wiggins had 12, and Adebayo had 10. Young led Atlanta with 12 points and six assists, while Krejci had 11 points.

The Heat's offense remained on-point to start the third quarter.

Miami began the quarter on a 14-3 run and hit three of their first three point shots of the quarter, with Burks going 2-2. The Heat opened up a 74-58 lead on Atlanta and it looked like the Hawks were on thin ice after such a strong start.

Atlanta fought back though. They had a 17-4 run and got the lead to eight points, but five straight from Miami pushed the lead back to 13 points. The Heat led 93-80 at the end of the third.

Atlanta kept pushing to make this game, but anytime that they made a run, Miami responded. The Hawks cut the lead to six in the fourth quarter, but Miami had an 11-3 run to push the lead back to 14 points with 8:10 left in the game.

Atlanta got the lead all the way down to five with close to two minutes left in the game, but Herro put the dagger in the Hawks with a three at the end of the shot clock to put the Heat up eight and effectively end the game. Miami finished things off and defeated Atlanta 122-112.

Additional Links

Trae Young Makes NBA History Against the Miami Heat

Hawks vs Heat: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Atlanta Hawks Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Short vs Houston, Snapping Their Three Game Winning Streak