MIAMI, Feb. 5 (Ticker) -- The Miami have shown improvement over the last three weeks, but they still cannot beat the lowly Atlanta Hawks.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim collected 34 points (22 in first half) and 11 rebounds as the Hawks held on for a 76-73 victory to improve to 3-0 against the Heat this season.

Atlanta posted its second straight win, but has just three victories in its last 15 contests. Against the rest of the NBA, the Hawks are just 13-32.

"The first two times, they (Miami) didn't have their roster together and we were a little healthier," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "This time was real satisfying because they have been playing so well and we really haven't been."

NBA.TV highlights from Hawks-Heat: 56k | 300k Foul trouble kept Alonzo Mourning from a huge statement, but he did have three blocks in a night of defeat. Victor Baldizon NBAE/Getty Images

Atlanta overcame 38 percent shooting to snap a nine-game road losing streak against the Heat, winning in Miami for the first time since April 21, 1996

"This loss hurts," Miami guard Rod Strickland admitted. "Tonight was a game that we were expecting to win and we just didn't get the job done tonight. But we have to bounce back and get ready for the next game. We got off to a sluggish start, but that is no excuse."

Miami sliced an eight-point deficit to 74-73 when Jimmy Jackson followed Eddie House's airball from beyond the arc with 4.6 seconds left.

But the Hawks inbounded in the backcourt to Hanno Mottola, who dribbled all but the final second off the clock before getting fouled. He made both free throws to give Atlanta a three-point cushion.

LaPhonso Ellis missed an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Heat, who suffered a critical home loss in their attempt to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race.

With New York losing to the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami missed a chance to climb out of last place in the Atlantic Division.

"I think tonight we took a step back," Miami guard Eddie Jones said. "We have to understand where we started and where we want to go. We needed to win this game and go into the (All-Star) break feeling good about ourselves. We didn't do a lot of things right tonight."

Jones and Strickland scored 16 points apiece for the Heat, who had won 10 of their previous 12 games. However, Miami has dropped 16 games to sub-.500 teams this season.

"I thought we were as bad offensively as we've been in a while, and going down the stretch we just couldn't make the plays we had to make," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "We had half a dozen shots that would have made the difference."

Miami made just 1-of-13 from beyond the arc and got to the line just 16 times, making 12. Atlanta converted 23-of-29 free throws.

"The discrepency of free throws was too much to overcome," Riley said. "Both teams were very, very physical. We got 38 points in the paint and 12 free throws. We never could get a foothold on the game. They never let us."

Atlanta opened its biggest lead, 66-58, on Abdur-Rahim's jumper with 7:05 remaining. He made 12-of-24 shots from the field and 10-of-11 from the line.

Adbur-Rahim scored 22 of Atlanta's 39 points in the first half, helping the Hawks grabbed a two-point lead at intermission.

"This was really a team effort -- the defense that Ira (Newble) gave us, the minutes Hanno gave us," Abdur-Rahim said. "It was not about what I scored. That was my part. That is what the team depends on me to do and I tried to come through tonight."

The offenses continued to struggle in the third quarter, with Miami outscoring Atlanta, 15-14. The Hawks finally grabbed control early in the final period.

Jason Terry, who scored 16 points for Atlanta, felt the key to the contest was standing up to the Heat early.

"They pride themselves on being a tough team, a physical team," Terry said. "Our thinking was we're not going to stand there and take the punch. We'll get the first punch. That's what we tried to do -- match their intensity and bring it up to a higher level."

Alonzo Mourning and Brian Grant added 10 points apiece for the Heat, while Grant grabbed 13 rebounds.

"We just didn't play well enough to win," Mourning said. "They didn't do anything different, it's what we didn't do."