Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat dribbles against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 27, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Jimmy Butler flirted with a three-time brace, scoring a team-best 26 points along with nine rebounds and a match-high nine assists as the Miami Heat hosts beat the Atlanta Hawks 130-128 on the night Monday.
It was Miami’s second straight win – both against Atlanta – as the Heat picked up 22 points from Victor Oladipo and 21 from Caleb Martin, both coming on from the bench.
The Hawks are led by Trae Young, who has 25 points and 7 assists. Dejounte Murray added 23 points and 8 assists.
Atlanta, having lost five straight games, was also backed by John Collins and Saddiq Bey by 17 points each. Clint Capela had a double with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who took a 15-point lead in the first half.
The Heat took a six-point lead with 4.4 seconds remaining before Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter and Murray each sank three points on either side as Butler hit two fouls.
Jimmy made it through the long run (nothing new) and got 1 bounce & 1 assist from a triple triple pic.twitter.com/Gr95K2yfdh
– ENJOY Miami (@MiamiHEAT) March 7, 2023
The Hawks have scored 100 or more points in 40 consecutive games, which is the second-longest streak in the NBA.
However, the Heat, which won the season series 3-1 against Atlanta, also had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Bam Adebayo in their last head-to-head win.
Miami played without Kevin Love, who suffered a rib injury. The Heat continue without starting keeper Kyle Lowry, who has not played since February 2 due to knee pain.
Both teams shot well in the first half, but the Hawks took a 43-30 lead at the end of the frame by a 22-8 lead in points in the paint. Atlanta scored 76% overall for the quarter, including a 4 to 8 on a 3-point try. Miami shoots 55.6% long while taking 5/7 shots from distance.
3s has decreased
We made 16x on spinning 55.2% tonight pic.twitter.com/uPUO9W7cAV– ENJOY Miami (@MiamiHEAT) March 7, 2023
The Heat cut the deficit to 68-63 entering halftime. Martin had 16 points shooting 5 to 7 in the second quarter alone.
In the third inning, Miami led the game twice, but the Heat never took the lead, and the Hawks secured a 96-92 advantage in the fourth inning.
With the fourth half remaining 9:38, Adebayo made two free throws to give Miami a 102–100 lead. It was the Heat’s first time leading since October 11th.
Miami continued from there and ended the game with 53.2% of shots from the floor and 55.2% from outside the arc, while Atlanta shot 55.4% from the floor, including 31% from deep.
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