Hawks-Heat Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Mar 06 2012 11:44PM

The Miami Heat ended a brief rough stretch but now might need to deal with another ankle injury to one of their superstars.

Banged-up All-Star Dwyane Wade expects to be on the floor when the Heat try for an 11th consecutive home victory Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, who are looking to match a season high with their fourth straight win.

Miami (29-9) avoided a third straight defeat by shooting 58.4 percent en route to a 108-78 home rout of New Jersey on Tuesday. While the Heat got back on track for their 10th win in 12 games, the night took a scary turn when Wade rolled his right ankle late in the first half and did not return.

Though the Heat said he could have returned if needed, there might be reason to be concerned about a player who missed six games in January after spraining the same ankle.

Wade, however, thinks otherwise.

"Not worried at all," said Wade, who was held to 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting during a 100-92 home loss to Atlanta on Jan. 2.

Miami then beat the Hawks (23-15) three days later without Wade and LeBron James, 116-109 in triple-overtime at Atlanta. Chris Bosh, who had 33 points and 14 rebounds in that contest, returned from a three-game absence after the death of his grandmother to score 20 against the Nets.

"It's good to have him back," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "No question.

"One good quality, of many qualities that we have on this basketball team, is the ability to own it."

James finished with 21 points Tuesday to help the Heat extend their longest home winning streak since a 14-game run Jan. 22-March 16, 2007. Miami fell 91-82 to Milwaukee on Jan. 22 for its last defeat at American Airlines Arena, where it's 16-2.

James has averaged 32.4 points on 53.5 percent shooting and 9.0 rebounds in his last eight games against the Hawks. He had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Wade scored 21 and Bosh added 14 with 16 boards in a 107-87 victory at Atlanta on Feb. 12.

The Hawks should have some momentum after they opened a season-high six-game trip Tuesday with a 101-96 win at Indiana, their fourth victory in five games. With leading scorer Joe Johnson (17.9 points per game) out for the fifth time in six contests because of a knee injury, Josh Smith had 27 points with nine rebounds to help Atlanta snap a season-high three-game road skid.

"We're coming together and figuring out a way to win ball games," Smith said.

With Johnson struggling to get back on the court, Smith has averaged 23.4 points and 12.4 boards in the last five games.

"Josh has been on a roll as of late," coach Larry Drew said. "We've been going through him offensively and defensively. He's been an anchor for us."

Smith, however, has averaged 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 34.1 percent in three games versus Miami this season.

The Hawks have won two in a row at Miami following a four-game skid there.

Heat rally to beat Hawks 89-86

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Mar 07 2012 11:48PM

MIAMI (AP) There was a moment in the final seconds where LeBron James was waving his arms, motioning for another sellout Miami Heat crowd to quiet down so Dwyane Wade could shoot free throws in peace.

For much of the game, it was the Atlanta Hawks keeping them quiet - until the Heat perked up just in time.

James had 31 points and 11 rebounds, Wade added 18 points and set up Udonis Haslem for an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left, and the Heat rallied to beat the Hawks 89-86 on Wednesday night.

"We needed one of these games," James said. "It's about time we had one of these games where we had to fight for every minute, all the way down the stretch. ... It was good for us to close this game out."

Miami won its 11th straight at home and had to come from 10 points down in the third quarter to extend that streak. Another Heat streak ended - it was Miami's first time since April 6, 2006, without making a 3-pointer, a span that included 455 regular-season games and 60 more in the playoffs.

The Heat were 0 for 10 from beyond the arc.

"Sometimes you have to win them ugly," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And that was ugly there for a while."

Josh Smith scored 23 for the Hawks, who were without Joe Johnson and Tracy McGrady, among others. Jannero Pargo had a look at a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it hit the rim and bounced away.

"He had a decent look at it. It just didn't go down," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We had an opportunity, but we squandered it away."

Jeff Teague scored 16 and Jerry Stackhouse added 10 for the Hawks. The Heat only had two players in double figures, with Chris Bosh managing only nine points on a 3 for 14 shooting night.

Pargo's three-point play with 30.5 seconds left got the Hawks within 85-84, but on the next Miami possession, Wade found Haslem at the rim to push the lead back to three. A layup by Vladimir Radmanovic with just under 4 seconds left got Atlanta within one, but Wade - who also had nine rebounds and six assists - made a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds left, with James asking for quiet.

"We stuck with it until we eventually got the lead," Wade said. "And we were able to hold on and get a good win."

The Hawks led by 10 points in the third quarter, getting there on a 3-pointer by Kirk Hinrich, and again a few moments later when Smith made a pair of free throws with 4 minutes left to give Atlanta a 65-55 edge.

Then things got heated.

And the Heat needed the boost.

Miami went on top after a 13-0 run, a spurt that really started to roll when Wade stole the ball from Teague, got a pass back from Mario Chalmers and threw down a dunk that went halfway through the net, hit his chest twice as he held on to the goal - then finally fell through the net.

Atlanta turned the ball over four straight times, and not only were the Hawks losing the ball, they were losing their cool. During one scrum, Zaza Pachulia grabbed onto James' head, earning both a personal foul and a technical foul as players from both sides got testy with one another and even Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton - sitting courtside - feigned wanting to run on the court to join in the fun.

Chalmers and James combined to make two free throws, and the Heat lead was at 68-65.

"I stopped playing football a long time ago," James said. "But I still have football traits."

Wade blocked a 3-point try by Stackhouse with 16 seconds left in the third, Shane Battier swatted away an attempt by Ivan Johnson on the final play of the quarter, and the Hawks scored only six points in a span of 10 minutes, 12 seconds stretching into the fourth quarter.

But when Atlanta snapped out of it, with Teague making two layups in a 21-second span, it was suddenly a game again, with the Heat up only 77-75. Another basket by Teague tied it, and Smith's 3-pointer with 3:29 left put the Hawks back on top.

"We're steadily growing each and every day," Smith said. "We're starting to put consistent games together where we're playing together. We've been unselfish. We have to limit our turnovers more, especially down the stretch."

Miami scored the next six, Haslem's jumper with just over a minute to go giving the Heat an 83-80 lead.

"They put that team out there as a world-beater," Stackhouse said. "We came in here and competing with them just as well as much as anybody else and we felt we should have won the game."

Notes: James passed Rick Barry for 55th on the NBA's career scoring list. At his current pace, James would catch No. 50 Isiah Thomas in early April. ... Wade, James and Bosh are the first three teammates to all eclipse the 250 field-goal mark this season. ... Wade made the 4,000th free throw of his career in the game. ... The Hawks led 45-43 at the half, despite Miami being whistled for only two fouls and Atlanta not shooting a single free throw. The Hawks' first trip to the foul line came with 9:06 left in the third. ... Smith tried 12 shots in the first quarter, something only Michael Beasley, Kobe Bryant and DeMarcus Cousins had done this season.

Notebook: Heat 89, Hawks 86

Posted Wednesday March 7, 2012 11:29PM

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Guard Dwyane Wade hit two free throws and had a key assist in the final 15 seconds to help the Miami Heat defeat the Atlanta Hawks 89-86 Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Wade hit forward Udonis Haslem for an alley-opp that put the Heat ahead 87-84 with 12 seconds remaining. After the Hawks scored on the next possession, Wade made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left.

The Hawks had a chance to tie, but guard Jannero Pargo missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired. Heat forward LeBron James led the way with a game-high 31 points while Wade finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

The Heat trailed by 10 with four minutes left in the third quarter before mounting a second-half comeback. They led most of the fourth quarter before the Hawks went on a 9-0 run to take an 80-77 lead, but the Heat scored the next four points to grab the lead for good.

Forward Josh Smith led the Hawks with 23 points and six rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "That was ugly for awhile. We certainly weren't in a great flow offensively. We missed a lot of open shots, missed some good opportunities and got stagnant a little bit. We were able to push through, grind out the game and make some finishing plays on both ends going down the stretch."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

THE STAT: The Heat went to the free throw line nearly three times as much as the Hawks. Miami finished 19-of-25 from the line while Atlanta was just 8-of-9. The Hawks didn't attempt a free throw until four minutes remained in the third quarter.

TURNING POINT: The Heat led by 13 after the first quarter, but blew the game open with an 18-6 run to start the second quarter. Bosh led the spurt by scoring eight points, including a layup that made it 48-23 with 6:25 left.

QUOTABLE II: "There was too big of a discrepancy with the free throws, and then you turn the ball over 22 times. We still had an opportunity going down the stretch, but clearly we didn't make the plays at the end."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew

HOT: James finished 12-of-20 from the field and was the Heat's only offensive star. Wade got hot late, but it was James who fueled the third-quarter rally. Most of his production came on the perimeter.

NOT: The Heat were cold from the 3-point line. Although they boast one of the league's best in Mario Chalmers, they finished 0-of-10 from the arc. The Hawks' ability to hit eight 3-pointers was part of the reason they were able to stay close.

GOOD MOVE: Despite Haslem struggling during the last three games, the Heat went to him twice in the fourth quarter. Haslem hit a key jump shot in the closing stages and also scored the alley-oop to keep the Heat ahead. He finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting.

BAD MOVE: The Hawks had too many turnovers, finishing with 22. A large chunk of them came during Miami's 13-0 run in the third quarter. Too many errant passes caused the Hawks to lose control.

NOTABLE: The Heat have won 11 straight at home, the last loss coming Jan. 22 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks played without Joe Johnson, Willie Green and Tracy McGrady.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Saturday vs. Pacers, Tuesday @ Magic, Wednesday @ Bulls. For the Hawks, Friday @ Pistons, Sunday @ Kings, Tuesday @ Nuggets.

• Hawks: Horford, Johnson
• Heat: Gladness, Harris

• Hawks: Pachulia
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #11 Derrick Collins, #7 Kevin Fehr
• Attendance: 20018
• Duration: 2:08