Miami Heat fight back from down 20 but lose to Hawks on MLK Day, 113-121
The Miami Heat were coming off of back-to-back wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and gearing up to face an Atlanta Hawks team that is also searching for some sort of consistency. With a mid-day Martin Luther King Day matchup set between the two heated foes in the East, especially considering their recent history, it was sure to be a barn burner.
Well, it didn’t start that way—at least, for the Miami Heat. Allowing the Atlanta Hawks to get out to a double-digit lead early, the Miami Heat would find themselves down by as many as 24 points or so in the first half.
Allowing the Hawks to take a 20-point lead into the halftime break, it wasn’t looking good at all for the Miami Heat. But then they came out and flipped things around a bit to open the second half.
In a period that usually sees them play some of their worst ball, they played some of their best on the night.
The Miami Heat came out groggy Monday, it seemed, allowing the Hawks to gain an early 20-point lead. Though they made a comeback, it wouldn’t be enough.
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The third quarter saw them outscore the Hawks by a tally of 30-21.
Getting stops, being active on both sides of the ball, and making the extra effort plays is what allowed the Miami Heat to climb back in the game as that period unfolded. Giving themselves a shot as the game churned to a close, the Heat would only allow the Atlanta Hawks to take an 11-point lead into the final quarter, 80-91.
And though the Miami Heat would close the gap to as few as a two-possession game late in the contest, they were unable to ever get back on top of the Hawks in this one due to some costly mistakes late and continued ridiculous shot-making by the other side. The Miami Heat had simply spotted the Hawks too many points in the opening half to win it.
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You love that the Heat side fought until the very end but in that event, it just wasn’t enough. They’ll get a day off before facing off against the Pelicans on Wednesday, a team sitting in third place out in the Western Conference.