Hobbled Heat rally but come up short
Finishing 8-3 surge clinches it for Hawks after Miami comeback.
Erik Spoelstra asked his team to take a no-excuse mentality into Monday's game.
The Heat (15-15) listened to their coach, cutting a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to one with 1:05 remaining in the game despite having just nine healthy players available. But Miami didn't have enough to complete the comeback, as the Hawks (7-23) closed the game on an 8-3 run to hold on for a 110-104 victory over the Heat at Philips Arena.
“Those last nine minutes, it would require that kind of effort, that kind of disposition,” Spoelstra said of the Heat's late rally. “It didn't even mean every possession was going perfectly, but you could see the level of urgency go way up. That's what is required. And we just didn't have it for the entire game.”
There are no moral victories for Miami, though. The loss came against the team with the NBA's worst record.
Taurean Prince led the charge for the Hawks with 24 points.
Josh Richardson was one of the bright spots for the Heat, as he finished with 26 points. Dion Waiters fought through a stomach illness to score 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Here are our five takeaways: Nine is not enough: Injuries have tested the Heat's depth plenty of times this season. But Monday was Miami's biggest challenge, as it played without starting center Hassan Whiteside, starting point guard Goran Dragic, and forwards James Johnson and Justise Winslow. Rodney McGruder and Okaro White were also unavailable, as they continue to recover from surgeries. With all of these players out because of injuries and center AJ Hammons still in Sioux Falls, S.D., despite counting toward the 15-man roster, the Heat had just nine players available, which is one above the NBA minimum. All nine played, with even veteran Udonis Haslem seeing a minute of action.
“Not having enough bodies, that's not an excuse,” Spoelstra said. “We had enough, and we had enough energy.”
Too many turnovers, not enough defense: The Heat rely on their defense to win games, and Miami wasn't at its best on
that end. The Heat allowed Atlanta to score 110 points, with 46 coming in the paint. And before the fourth quarter it was even worse, as the Hawks shot 49.2 percent over the first three quarters. That’s just not good enough for a Heat team that was missing offensive firepower. Oh, and Miami also committed 19 turnovers. Bad defense and too many turnovers is not a good combination for the Heat, or any NBA team.
Another starting five: The Heat played their 30th game. They also used their ninth different starting lineup of the season. That’s a pretty high number for a Heat team that entered 2017-18 leaning on continuity after bringing back 11 players from last year’s season-ending roster. But blame a long list of injuries for all of the different starting combinations. With James Johnson, Dragic, Winslow and Whiteside unavailable, Miami started Tyler Johnson, Dion Waiters, Josh Richardson, Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk. Entering the game, this group had logged just three minutes of playing time together this season. They exceeded that just in the first quarter, playing the first 6:34 together and being outscored by the Hawks 19-15. This five won’t start too many more games together this season.
December to remember for J-Rich: What a month it’s been for Richardson. After a slow start to the season, Richardson has made up for it by playing the best basketball of his career in December. The 24-year-old continued this impressive stretch with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting to go with three steals and two blocks. He’s now averaging 17.3 points on 56.3 percent shooting in nine games this month. And Richardson is not just excelling on offense, he’s also been the Heat’s best defender this season. Richardson entered Monday limiting players he’s defending to 38 percent shooting (6.8 percent worse than their combined average shooting percentage). “J-Rich is playing very good basketball on both ends of the court,” Spoelstra said. “He just continues to gain confidence.”
What’s next? A Wednesday game against the Celtics in Boston. It won’t be easy, considering the Celtics are 13-3 at home and own the East’s top record at 26-7. Throw in the fact that Miami could have to play without Dragic, Johnson, Winslow and Whiteside again, and you can expect the Heat to enter this contest as heavy underdogs. But a more favorable stretch is on the horizon, as the Heat will begin Friday a four-game homestand and an eight-game stretch that includes seven home games.