Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat vs. Falcons
Atlanta rises again over Miami, 103-95.
The defiance — “We have enough” — has been there at every turn from Erik Spoelstra, because that’s what coaches do.
And maybe with Hassan Whiteside at the top of his game, the Miami Heat might.
But with only nine available players and playing on the second night of a back-to-back set that opened with an ugly home loss to the New York Knicks, the Heat did not have enough Wednesday night in a 103-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.
Because they certainly did not have enough from Whiteside, even when getting plenty from Tyler Johnson on a career night.
Rewarded during free agency at the pay grade of an every-night center, Whiteside again found himself outplayed by a leading big man, this time with Dwight Howard putting up 23 points and 17 rebounds to Whiteside’s 8 and 12.
In more typical times, when Spoelstra would be able to turn elsewhere, such nights might be withstood. But with five players back in South Florida rehabilitating injuries, these hardly are typical times for the Heat.
the inside pounding that began in the Heat’s loss Tuesday to the Knicks continued, with Atlanta rolling to a 58-26 scoring advantage in the paint.
And that simply was too much for the Heat to overcome, even with Johnson scoring a career-high 27 points, Goran Dragic adding 21 and Wayne Ellington 19.
The challenges in the middle for the final two games of this threegame trip will be reduced to Tristan Thompson and Robin Lopez, but those games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls will also, of course, first feature LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, and then Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade.
With Johnson converting a 3-pointer and then making a dunk on the Heat’s next possession, the Heat moved within 83-78 with 7:22 to play, after trailing by as many as 15 earlier. The surge came with Whiteside on the bench.
The Heat then extended their rally to 11-0 to move within 83-80. But 6 quick points from the Hawks followed for a 91-80 lead, leading to a Heat timeout with 4:42 to play. In the interim, Whiteside was called for his fifth foul of the night with 5:35 to play.
The Heat then got back within 93-87 with 2:40 to play on a pair of Dragic free throws, but the Hawks took over from there.
The Heat went into the fourth quarter down 78-63, with Whiteside with just 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting to that stage, a stage when the Hawks stood with a 38-14 scoring advantage in the paint.
After falling behind by 15 early in the second period, the Heat managed to close within 53-46 at halftime, despite Dragic being forced to the bench with his third foul with 4:50 left in the second quarter.
The Hawks outscored the Heat 30-10 in the paint in the first half, but the Heat were able to stay close with Johnson scoring 8 of his 14 first-half points in the second period.
With Howard dominating his matchup against Whiteside at the outset, the Heat fell behind by 11 early, before coach Erik Spoelstra pulled both Whiteside and Dragic.
From there, behind a lineup that featured Willie Reed at center, Johnson at point guard, and Derrick Williams, Rodney McGruder and Ellington on the wings, the Heat were able to close within 29-25 at the end of the first period.
The Heat closed the first quarter on a 12-5 run after the Hawks put together a 14-4 surge earlier in the first period.
Ellington shot 4 of 4 in the first quarter, converting both of his 3-point attempts.
The Hawks outscored the Heat 18-8 in the paint in the opening peSo riod, picking up where the New York Knicks left off Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat again dressed only nine players, one above the NBA minimum. Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Luke Babbitt were all left behind in South Florida due to injury as the Heat continue to suffer the absence of Chris Bosh.
The Hawks were without sidelined guard Kent Bazemore due to a knee issue, with Tim Hardaway Jr. starting in his place.
The Hawks won the first game of the four-game season series 93-90 Nov. 15 at AmericanAirlines Arena, in a game that also completed a back-toback set for the Heat. The Heat were without Dragic, Winslow and Ellington in that loss, with Whiteside going for 19 points and 25 rebounds that night.
The Hawks entered having won eight of the previous 11 meetings, but the Heat did win both games last season in Atlanta.
The Heat entered 5-6 on the road, with victories in three of their previous four road games.
The Hawks had been idle since Monday, a 102-99 loss to the visiting Thunder, entering on a seven-game losing streak, including losses in their previous three home games.