Eddie Jones scored 16 points and Chris Gatling and Brian Grant each had 15 for Miami, which snapped a four-game losing streak and improved its slim playoff hopes by moving within three games of eighth-place Indiana with 11 games left.
"It's still there. You've got to keep believing, you're taught that when you're very young," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "All of a sudden the teams that were out of it are beginning to win and some of the other teams are falling back to us."
Jason Terry collected 23 points and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 19 for the Hawks, who were looking to sweep the season series from the Heat.
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Brian Grant made seven of the eight shots he took, scoring 15 points along with 13 boards. Victor Baldizon NBAE/Getty Images |
A 9-2 burst capped by Gatling's lay-in with 83 seconds to go gave the Heat a 69-49 advantage. They were able to coast the rest of the way, leading by as many as 22 in the fourth.
Grant, who finished with 13 rebounds, tied a career high with five steals.
"It's great when you can get a win with everybody contributing," Grant said.
Eddie House scored 13 points, Rod Strickland added 11 and Mourning netted 10 for Miami, which shot 46 percent (38-of-83) from the field but was a woeful 12-of-24 from the line.
"It's nice to get back on track. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum on to Sunday (against Indiana)," Mourning said.
"Brian's effort tonight lifted our play even more. We needed a contribution from everyone tonight. We got that. It's what enabled us to get the win."
Mourning was superb defensively, holding Atlanta center Nazr Mohammed scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in 22 minutes.
The Heat were stingy with the ball, committing 10 turnovers while turning 18 Hawks giveaways into 24 points.
"In a game like this it comes down to who wants it more. You never like to be outworked or outhustled, but the Heat did that to us tonight," Abdur-Rahim said.