Miami Heat’s Tyler Johnson has found his groove again

The Miami Heat showed that their pre-All-Star break form was no fluke. They downed the Atlanta Hawks to win their 15th game in their last 17 outings.

Welcome to the Hot Hand, where after every Miami Heat game win or loss we recognize the player who best put his stamp on the game.

For how meekly restrained the Miami Heat were during Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, they were the exact opposite against the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat were the more aggressive team, throwing the first, second, third and fourth punches of the night. Atlanta could never mount much resistance, and the final score read 108-90 Miami.

Although it was a group effort — six players scored in double-digits — there was one, in particular, who stood out. And that was Tyler Johnson.

Johnson finished the night with 23 points in 26 minutes, to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Further, he went 9-for-11 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three, and made both of his free-throw attempts. It was his first 20-plus point game since Jan. 19.

That amounts to an absurd 96.8 true-shooting percentage, which is just freakishly efficient.

Over his last five games, Johnson is averaging 17.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. He has missed just two of his last 21 free-throw attempts, and shot 52 percent overall in that span. Not bad.

It was also fun to note that he and the other Johnson — James — still have a strong connection.

It appears the All-Star break didn’t hamper their telepathic abilities whatsoever.

Unfortunately, Miami doesn’t get any time off before their next game. They are currently en route back to South Florida to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. The game tips at 8 pm ET, be sure not to miss it.

Next: Chris Bosh joins TNT crew, won't play this season

Notes

• Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic had solid nights overall, but struggled with their shooting. The duo combined to go 11-for-35 from the floor. On the other hand, they did score 31 points, so it wasn’t all bad. Waiters also dished out 10 assists, and was a plus-30 in 31 minutes. That clip led the team by a wide margin.
• Hassan Whiteside, though, was all bad. He had two turnovers, shot 1-of-9 and scored just two points. Somewhat strangely, he was still a plus-20. The plus-minus stat can be so misleading sometimes.
• Starting power forward Luke Babbitt had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 three-pointers in 14 minutes tonight. That’ll do, Babbz. That’ll do.
• For how good Babbitt was, J. Johnson was every bit as bad. Despite his five assists, he went 0-for-4 and scored a meager two points. Hopefully it was just an off game, and he’ll be in a better rhythm tomorrow.
• Babbitt and J. Johnson also combined for nine fouls. Thus, Okaro White saw extended minutes, and did not dissapoint. I thought he did a great job defensively in the second half, especially on Paul Millsap. Millsap had 19 points in the first half, but finished with just 21. White certainly had a hand in that.
• And finally, Josh Richardson saw action for the first time since Jan. 6th. He played 13 minutes and went scoreless. Let’s all hope he stays healthy and finds his rookie-season form.