Heat break out of slump behind Wade, Beasley

By Chris Perkins, for NBA.com
Posted Monday January 4, 2010 11:35PM

MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Heat certainly know how to break out of a slump.

Riding a season-worst three-game losing streak, Miami put together one of its most complete games of the season Monday to hammer Atlanta 92-75.

"We've shown an ability to bounce back and have some resiliency," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was a strong, important win."

Heat guard Dwyane Wade had 28 points and eight rebounds, and forward Michael Beasley had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Heat (17-15) in what could be described as a blowout.

Miami's 73-58 lead going into the third quarter might not have been fully indicative of how this game was going at the time. The Heat maintained a double-digit margin ever since they took a 22-12 lead late in the first quarter. They were never threatened. The Hawks (21-12), now on a season-worst four-game losing streak, were shooting just .346 through three quarters and being out-rebounded, 37-23.

"We just didn't come out ready to play," said Atlanta coach Mike Woodson, whose team was held to a season low in points. "I have to take responsibility for that. It's unacceptable how we played."

Only two of Atlanta's nine rotation players shot 50 percent or better from the field -- forward Marvin Williams (nine points) and guard Mike Bibby (seven points) were both 3-for-6 -- as the Hawks finished with a season-low .352 field-goal percentage. Atlanta was out-rebounded, 52-30.

And even though this was just one game out of the 82-game regular-season grind, there was a little bit more significance attached.

Atlanta, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, entered the contest with a 4 1/2-game lead over No. 5 seed Miami. And the teams met in a sometimes contentious first-round playoff series last season with Atlanta winning in seven games.

"I guess it could be a little bit of a rivalry," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said.

Atlanta, which is playing perhaps the toughest eight-game stretch of its season, already had losses against Cleveland, at Cleveland and against New York to comprise its three-game losing streak entering Monday's contest. And the Hawks' road gets tougher in the next few days. After Wednesday's game against New Jersey, Atlanta has a rough three-games-in-four-nights stretch featuring a home-road, back-to-back set against Boston (Friday) and at Orlando (Saturday) before a game at Boston (Monday).

The Hawks are likely to face one of those three -- Cleveland, Boston or Orlando -- in a second-round playoff series.

Miami led 30-14 after the first quarter, its largest lead of the season after the first quarter. It was eerily reminiscent of Saturday's 107-97 loss to Charlotte, during which Miami built a 29-10 first-quarter lead.

Beasley had an 11-point first quarter. It was the second time this season he's had a double-digit scoring quarter. The other time was the first quarter at Atlanta.

Miami's lead grew to 48-23 in the second quarter and Beasley's scoring total hit 20 points, tying the career-best for a half he established five days earlier in a 108-78 blowout loss at San Antonio. Wade had 11 points and seven rebounds in the first half. The Heat's plus-15 rebounds margin (28-13) at halftime was a season best.

"Beasley and Wade are definitely a (tough) two-man tandem and both of them were playing great," Hawks guard Joe Johnson said.

Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford, a regular Heat killer going back to his days in New York when he had a 52-point game in January 2007, had 15 first-half points and finished with a team-high 23 points. But he did that on 5-for-13 shooting (he was 12-for-13 on free throws).

The Heat, now an unspectacular 11-9 at home with losses against such lightly-regarded opponents as Washington, Memphis and Charlotte, can't get too confident, however, because Boston visits Wednesday. And after that Miami heads west for a six-game road trip.

Notes: Miami center Jermaine O'Neal didn't play due to a strained right hip flexor/groin. He's listed as day-to-day. ... For the second consecutive game the opposing coach complained to referees about a whistle coming from the stands in the area directly across from the visiting bench. On Monday it was Atlanta coach Mike Woodson; Charlotte coach Larry Brown had the same complaint during Saturday's game. At one point late in the first quarter Miami police, referees and stadium personnel were gathered at the end of the court trying to find the culprit. But it appeared The Whistler got away with his infraction once again. ... Iowa Hawkeyes fans made a strong showing at Monday's game. No. 10 Iowa plays No. 9 Georgia Tech on Tuesday in the FedEx Orange Bowl. ... Beasley was 1-for-8 from the field in the second half.

• Hawks: Hunter
• Heat: O'Neal, Quinn

• Hawks: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #33 Sean Corbin, #39 Kevin Fehr
• Attendance: 16500
• Duration: 2:15