Hassan Whiteside grabbed more rebounds than any player has in a game this season, but it wasn’t enough to give the Miami Heat the edge.
After struggling mightily on the road to the heavily favored Spurs just one night ago, it appears as if Miami’s woes have followed them back home to South Florida. Granted, Atlanta came into this contest at 7-2 and clearly superior to the reeling Heat, who have now dropped six straight games.
Despite excellent defense yet again, Miami couldn’t find a will or way to close the deal down the stretch. Should these problems continue to occur on a regular basis, it could potentially derail any shot the Heat have at securing a playoff spot come April.
For Miami, Hassan Whiteside scored 19 points and grabbed a season-high (league-high as well) 25 rebounds, but was unable to will his team to a victory in front of the home crowd. Josh Richardson bounced back from a less-than-stellar performance against San Antonio to match Whiteside with 19. Overall, five players finished in double figures for the Heat, and yet it still was not enough.
Dennis Shroder led the Hawks with 18 points and 4 assists. Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. both scored 15 as Atlanta was held to 17 points below their scoring average, perplexing the minds of Heat fans around the globe even more.
While the Heat have been nearly unbearable to watch at times, they do have this under their belt: every loss has come to a team currently above .500, as Miami’s $98 million man was sure to point out in the locker room:
”We’re not losing to bad teams,” Whiteside pointed out. ”We’re right there. It makes no sense to get down on ourselves. It’s not like we’re getting blown out. We’re still a top-five defensive team. We’re just trying to get the offense there. We’re going to get it right.”
Able to pull within one twice within the final half-minute of action, Miami’s comeback attempt fell short after four made free throws by Shroder and Kent Bazemore.
Miami (2-8) will remain home for a Thursday showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 PM ET.