Behind a pair of strong performances from guard Pelle Larsson and Norman Powell, the Miami Heat snapped a three-game skid Friday evening with a 126-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Larsson, returning from a high ankle sprain after a four-game absence, filled the box score up with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Norman Powell tallied a team-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting, in a addition to seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block in 33 minutes.
Without Bam Adebayo (back), Kel’el Ware recorded yet another double-double — his 13th of the season. He finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes, converting seven of his 10 field goal attempts.
The biggest difference came in the 2nd and 4th quarters, where Miami outscored Atlanta 67-45 over those two periods. The up-tempo pace played into the Heat’s favor. The ball movement was much better allowing them to create and exploit advantages off the bounce.
Collectively, the Heat shot 47.1 percent — and 11-of-36 from beyond the arc (30.6 percent). Conversely, the Hawks shot 47.1 percent and 33.3 percent (12-36) from distance. Though the Heat finished a plus-10 on the glass with 19 more shot attempts.
Despite inefficient shooting performances, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic also provided a positive impact off the Heat bench. Jaquez scored 16 points with five rebounds and three steals; Jovic had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his first game back from an elbow injury.
Atlanta was led by Jalen Johnson’s near 24-9-10 triple double. Trae Young tallied a game-high 30 points on 8-of-16 shooting, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Hawks in the race.
Miami returns to the court again on Saturday for the second night of a back-to-back against the reeling Indiana Pacers.
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Its Atlanta Hawks or mess of Atlanta, so we shouldn’t be to excited. But a win is always a good thing.
Pele was obviously a brightest star of this game. Several others had their moments.
Nico took 14 shots, Powell 16, Wiggins 17. Those two needs to dig out each shot attempt, but most of the Nico shots were mostly effortless.
This shows how Heat needs that type of player.
As RC said, a small step in the right direction. Hopefully, the rock bottom is behind us.
I agree about Atlanta. That game is nothing to gloat about. I do think the team is on the right track. Ironically, it was without Bam or Herro. There seemed to be a better flow without Bam taking a bunch of 3 point shots. I was imagining what the team would have looked like with Gianni’s in the line-up instead of Bam and Herro.
Kel’el’s rebounding and 3 point shooting are for real. Mitchel, Smith, Jaquez and Larsson are all pit bulls. Jakucionis may also be one.
Jovic is still not playing up to snuff. He got a chance to play out of necessity. If he has another 3-14 game he will be back on the bench. It will be hard for him to get his mojo back from there.
That is why I have suggested repeatedly that he be sent to G League. Not as punishment but in order for him to find his shot, his confidence and come to grips with what kind of player he wants to be. He has the body of a power forward but seems to want to be a playmaking guard. Reminds me of a Ben Simmons light. Ben could have been a hell of a PF.
Jovic needs to get meaner and more physical. The Heat can really use the player he can be
The 3-14 was bad. The rebounds and assists were good. But I thought he did for a change play with more confidence. We will see him and be able to see if there’s any improvement tonight (unless he tweaked the elbow again).
I agree. If he shows improvement it will be a very good sign. If not, I would not hesitate to send him to Sioux Falls for 2-3 weeks. Skyforce has 15 games between now and end of January.
We’ll know how its going if he starts slapping himself on the forehead.
Yes, improvements can’t just be one game. I will see if he continues to play aggressively tonight (if he plays. He was grabbing the elbow last night). If he does that and improves on that awful 20% fg%, it will be another baby step in the right direction.
how many chances he get jeez.keshad athleticism would help us more
With a 4 year $62.5 extension coming up, I suspect Jovic will get quite a few chances.
Keshad is a long term project like Jovio. He can possibly be signed on for another 2 years and given an opportunity to improve. I was hoping he would improve from last year, but haven’t seen it.
Jovic is in a funk like Jaquez was last year, until he reinvented himself and found a new mojo.
That was a big time team win against a talented team missing only KP, vs a Heat team missing Bam and Herro. Larsson just makes winning plays and changes the energy of the team along with Dru Smith. Ware had his usual double double and Jakucionas looks like a NBA rotation player as a 19 year old. The Hawks transition defense in Q2 was atrocious – Jalen Johnson puts up somewhat empty stats because he doesn’t play defense. In this one game at least, looked like two teams headed in opposite directions.
Also, Quin Snyder was Zach Lowe’s preseason COY pick for good reason – he’s a good coach and Hawks are talented. But something about the Hawks feels off. Without Bam and Herro, Heat just ran them off the floor.
Atlanta seem a big mess right now, maybe because of Traes return. Johnson doesn’t seems to me as a future star. Good, but not special player. Youngs all star games are behind him.
teams a hot mess with porzingis 500 team at best,
After watching the Hawks game, several thoughts came to mind.
I thought Jovic looked much more assertive this game.
3 for 14 is 3 for 14 no way to sugarcoat that.
It is clear I look at and see some things you don’t. 3-14 is poor. Other aspects of his game were better. You are hoping for him to fail. I am hoping he improves.
for the heat i hope hes good for my rep yes hope hes bad.so far im right hope im wrong not really,hfl rep before heat.on the other hand love ware jjj norm like bam im ok with wiggy pelle dru not sure i like keshad or goldin rest of team hot garbage along with top 15.lgh need to meet rc in july
If he could made 3-4 more shots, this would be a good game for him.
true but he didnt therfore a bad game and poorly coached game by top 15,like sun mentioned it was crappy porzingless atl team.if personnel is used correctly can compete with detroit.im putting keshad on cade nobody else on team can cover him .minnesota doubling antman.okc no shot sherlock there way too athletic
Yes, bad game, agree. But he did some things well, which is an improvement.
Shai——
Tatum, Brown——-
Jokic——-
Steph, Klay——
Giannis——
LeBron——
Kawhi——
Steph, Klay——-
LeBron——-
Those are the main player(s) on the last 10 NBA championship teams. I am certain that research would illustrate the same thing in every sport – that in the vast majority of cases, a coach will not win a championship without great players. Spo is a top 15 coach because he’s earned it.
belichic coached brady up big time.reid same to mahomes,no qbs do good with jets.coaching effects winning in football very little in bball.thats a fact guess u just follow bball sun?
John Wooden, Pat Reilly, Red Auerbach, Michael W. Krzyzewski, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson and Bobby Knight. Look them up and take a look at their rosters over the years. I think you will see a direct correlation.
powells a keeper solid #2 option.wiggins a spectacular player at least once a game..pelle was herro well rested lets see him play somewhat like this consistently for a while.pelle gives us 12 -15 ppg we should be happy because he guards.jackos a baby need more to see on him to start making judgements.has a cockiness all good ballers possess.jovic seen enough a fine player east of the atlantic.pat paid him another brillaint contract btw lol so there forced into playing him.hes to tall for his game needed to be about 6 5 not 6 10
Very good assessments. Especially the part about having paid Jovic so now he’s gotta play.
true but having him play so far has hurt more than helped except for one good game hes had.he can do alot of things on the court but nothing good.what does he do good?
Don’t write him off just yet. He is currently in the final year of his rookie contract. The extension doesn’t kick in until next year.
The way I see it, Miami has until next summer to find out what kind of player he can be before concluding the extension was a mistake. He has that much time to find out what kind of player he can be.
In the end, I see him as a SF/PF who can pass, rebound and shoot 3’s. It’s up to him to become the best version of himself, as Ware is now doing. Bottom line, his key to success is for him to decide to be the best, most physical player he can be. Everything else will fall into place once he does that. He can mold himself into that new style of player in Sioux Falls, without hurting the Heat during his transformation process.
That’s what I got from this game too. If only the Heat would do exactly that, we would be doing the optimal moves to improve.
how bout bam herro for zion .zions lost lots weight .prob not getting greek zion is unstoppable on the block,
I would not trade a steady, mostly available player like Bam straight up for a guy who has missed a lot of games every season, including this one. Zion averages more points and assists. Bam averages more rebounds. Bam 3p% has gone down to 31%. Zion is 0%. Bam is known as a better defender. No thanks.
Now Herro and some other pieces, we can discuss.
career 25pts 58 % i believe he is the best low post player in the nba.wasting away in new orleans he has lost lots weight.i would do a bam herro deal for him.have u seen him play lately .much thinner
No, I guess I must’ve only watched the 17 games he missed this season. Out of 32. Bam is far superior just by being available.
do u have nba tix only way to see him unless u live in the bayou do you?i know hes missed tons games at 285lbs he s gotta to be about 240 now.the talent is tantalizing.when healthy hes as good as kawai
He has missed more than half of this season so far. No way do I give up Bam for a no show. And, duh, yes I’ve seen his slimmer self. About time.
guess u havent watched zion play.pelicans never on maninstream tv gotta have nba tix.sure those missed games are bad but losing all that weight will help him with that down here.bam is a solid player for sure zion is a diff maker.its little risky with injury history but im doing that deal just also to get herro tfoh.herro has to be with a sweetener as 30 likes to say.his value is almost like his last name zero.i cant take credit for that name btw..
I don’t need to watch many games to realize he has slimmed down. Everyone knew he had intriguing talent when he was drafted. I wouldn’t mind getting him. I wouldn’t give up Bam for him.
What are you smoking and do you have any more? Miami needs players who are available. This guy has averaged 51 games a year since he came into the NBA.
Hflscratcher….
Glad to break the losing streak. But we really need to be more consistent. Pelle was very good, great 4th quarter by Wiggins, Powell 25 points, Ware another double double, Jaquez 5-14 but helped the team win, Kas coming along, I addressed Jovic earlier that I liked the aggression.