Miami Heat Prove They Can Win On The Road

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra put his motivational skills to work before the team took the court Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.

During the pregame, Spoelstra let the team know just how poorly they had played on the road. The Heat entered having lost seven of eight away games.

"Coach let us know," forward Caleb Martin said. "He put that on the board, 1-7, which I didn't obviously realize. We knew were struggling on the road. It's not only that we've been losing on the road but how we've been losing on the road. They've all been winnable games."

The Heat broke the trend by defeating the Hawks 106-98 at State Farm Arena. It was the perfect way to start a tough four-game road trip that includes games against the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies.

The Celtics were last year's Eastern Conference representative in the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals while the Grizzlies had the best regular-season record in the West.

The good news for the Heat is they are finally starting to get healthy. Jimmy Butler is expected back Wednesday after missing six straight games with an ankle injury. Guard Max Strus (shoulder) returned against the Hawks after sitting two games.

"I feel like it's starting to change for us, just in terms of health," Spoelstra said. "Guys are getting healthier, even if they may not play the next game ... Everybody's trending in the right direction."

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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