Hawks-Heat Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 09 2012 8:42PM

After an intriguing week in the life of LeBron James, the superstar is excited about the next challenge for his Miami Heat.

James and the Heat will try to cool off the red-hot visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday night in an early showdown for first place in the Southeast Division.

The reigning league MVP was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year last week to add to his list of numerous honors. On the court, James drew attention for a post-game workout behind closed doors after a dismal 112-92 loss to New York last Thursday.

Miami (13-5) avoided its first three-game slide with Saturday's 106-90 home victory over New Orleans. The Heat lead Atlanta (12-5) by one-half game in the division, and James said he's ready for a game with first place on the line.

"It's always fun," James said. "And it's a divisional opponent and they're playing some really good basketball right now. They had the one loss to Cleveland at home, they didn't win that game but everybody has a little bump."

James is correct since Atlanta's lone defeat in 10 games was a 113-111 loss to the Cavaliers on Nov. 30. The Hawks have opened December with three victories and arrive in South Beach after Saturday's impressive 93-83 victory at Memphis.

Atlanta showed once again why it is one of the league's better defensive teams, limiting the Grizzlies to their lowest point total. The Hawks are allowing 93.6 points per game while holding foes to 43.3 percent shooting.

The Heat were disappointed with their defense during last week's two losses in which they allowed the Wizards and Knicks to shoot 46.5 percent. They limited the Hornets to 44.9 percent Saturday.

"We didn't do everything right," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We still had a handful of breakdowns. But the commitment on the defensive end was better than the past two games."

Miami has won four straight over Atlanta, including a 95-89 road victory Nov. 9. James just missed a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as he played through right knee pain after getting hurt in a collision with the Hawks' Josh Smith.

James made the clinching jumper with 13.6 seconds left on a night when his best was needed with Dwyane Wade out with a nasty cold.

That contest was part of Atlanta's 3-3 start. The Hawks look like a better team now.

"They've got three point guards that's very quick, three guys that's very quick in Lou Will (Williams), Devin Harris and Jeff Teague and those guys really speed the tempo up, and an All-Star in Al Horford and Josh Smith is really playing at a high level as well," James said.

"We have to do a good job of slowing their point guards down, trying to contain the point of attack and then put a little bit of pressure on those other two guys."

Williams is among the top bench scorers in the NBA with a 14.2 scoring average in his first season with Atlanta. He scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to key Saturday's win in Memphis.

"Just confidence. Just continue to shoot," Williams said. "I got a layup, and then I was able to get a 3 and it snowballed from there."

With big night from James, Heat top Hawks, 101-92

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Dec 10 2012 11:07PM

MIAMI (AP) LeBron James leaped as high as he can soar. Dwyane Wade shot better than he ever has before.

And when the Miami Heat stars are on their games like that ... "We probably won't lose," James said.

Such was the case Monday night. James scored 27 points, Wade had 26 and the Heat pulled away in the second half to beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-92, improving to 10-1 at home this season.

James (10 for 16) and Wade (11 for 13, the best single-game shooting percentage of his career) made 21 of 29 shots for Miami, which shot 58 percent as a team. Chris Bosh had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Norris Cole made all four of his shots to score 10 for the Heat, who handed the Hawks just their second loss in 11 games.

"Just trying to be as efficient as I can," Wade said. "Shooting 13 shots, it's nothing I'm used to. Some nights you go for 11-for-13. Some nights you go 3 for 13. But you just try to continue to be aggressive and continue taking shots."

Josh Smith scored 22 points and Al Horford finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which briefly held the lead midway through the third quarter before the Heat got rolling and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Hawks in the Southeast Division.

Atlanta has dropped both games against Miami this season and is 1-7 against the Heat since March 2011.

"We gave LeBron and D-Wade some opportunities to be able to get some layups early on and whenever you play against a team like that or whenever you give a great player opportunities to get layups first, the rim gets that much bigger," Smith said. "And they started hitting all kinds of shots."

A big third-quarter run put the Heat in control, and one of James' best dunks this season helped seal it in the fourth. Cole took a pass from Ray Allen, dribbled once and nonchalantly flipped the ball toward the rim.

James, who also had seven rebounds and six assists, did the rest.

James leaped - the top of his fingers stretched easily more than a foot above the basket - for a slam with 9:51 left, and the Heat weren't threatened in the final minutes.

"Cole made me go get it, for sure," James said. "He actually took that literally when I told him, `Just throw it anywhere."'

Said Wade: "That's his bionic leg."

Wade is now 20 for 25 in his last two games from the floor, scoring 26 points in each, and maybe it's not a coincidence that those outings came after NBA analyst Charles Barkley - Wade's one-time cell phone commercial co-star - said what he's been saying many times in the past couple years: The 2006 NBA Finals MVP's game is declining.

"It means Charles Barkley needs to shut up," James said. "I mean, the man's shooting 80 percent from the floor in the last couple games. Come on, man. That's like crazy, right? That's why who he is."

The Heat came into Monday night talking about how this particular game was significant for many reasons, foremost among them the Hawks' position in the division.

And while it's way too early to take more than a passing interest in the standings, Miami had taken notice of Atlanta's early success.

"We've been watching," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The up-close-and-personal view wasn't a surprise, then.

Miami led 56-54 at intermission, a well-played half where neither team led by more than five points. The Heat shot 64 percent from the field in the opening two quarters, 50 percent from 3-point range - but a mere 44 percent from the line, part of the reason why the margin was only two points at the break.

James finished each of the first two quarters with a flurry, first going 1-on-4 for a driving layup to give Miami a 28-26 lead, then blowing past Horford for a layup-and-foul and putting the Heat up two with 14.6 seconds left in the half.

The Hawks were helped mightily by a friend of Heat opponents of late, the 3-pointer. Atlanta made seven from beyond the arc in the half, and through three quarters, Smith was 4 for 4 - already matching his career-best single-game total from long range.

But in the third, Miami began to flex its muscles.

Jeff Teague made a 3-pointer midway through the third to give Atlanta a 65-63 lead, but after that, Miami took off running.

"We made just entirely too many mistakes," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "Too many mental mistakes against a very good a basketball team. Against Miami you can't do that."

A 17-4 run was the difference maker, turning a two-point deficit into an 11-point lead with 1:24 remaining in the third. Wade got it started with a jumper, and he wound up with eight during the burst, including a layup off a perfect pass by James from the right side of the lane. Shane Battier made two 3-pointers in the run, including the shot that ended it, and Miami's margin was suddenly 80-69.

NOTES: Celebrities were everywhere, with Jay-Z (a close friend of James, who gave his pal a long look after the alley-oop slam on the Cole pass) and Beyonce near the Hawks' bench, Floyd Mayweather Jr. across from the Miami bench and Lil Wayne watching from his now-usual baseline seat, headphones on virtually all night. ... The Heat were without Udonis Haslem (flu), and the Hawks played without Kyle Korver (back spasms). ... Smith entered the night 8 for 21 from 3-point range. ... The Heat caught a break late in the second quarter, when a pass from James was headed out of bounds before it caromed off the leg of referee Karl Lane. Mario Chalmers wound up setting James up for a layup and a 50-49 Miami lead.

Notebook: Heat 101, Hawks 92

Zachary Paul, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:12 PM - Updated Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:12 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks 101-92 Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who combined to score 53 points. It was the second consecutive game the duo turned in an efficient performance. Wade was 11 of 13 from the field while James finished was 10 of 16.

The Heat as a team shot 58 percent from the field, handing the Hawks just their second loss in the past 10 games. Atlanta was able to keep it close behind the strong play of Al Horford and Josh Smith, but Miami took control late in the third quarter.

It was the second straight victory for the Heat, who appear to have bounced back since their two-game losing streak. Miami improved to 8-0 when it holds opponents to under 100 points.

The Hawks were led by Smith, who finished with 22 points.

QUOTABLE: "I really didn't listen to the noise. I didn't pay attention ... I never really concerned myself with the noise outside."
-- Wade on ignoring his critics.

THE STAT: The Heat held the Hawks to 42 percent shooting from the field. They also became the first team to shot 50 percent against Atlanta this season.

TURNING POINT: After the teams were even for the most part, the Heat went on a 10-2 run midway through the third quarter. Ray Allen hit a technical free throw to make it 77-67 with 2:15 remaining.

QUOTABLE II: "We had a lot of mistakes defensively. They did shoot the ball well and we had defensive breakdowns. And the combination of both was the reason the Miami Heat had such a good shooting percentage."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew.

HOT: Once again, Wade and James turned in efficient performances. After making 20 of 28 in Saturday's win against the Hornets, they combined to shoot 21 of 27. Most of the points came within the offense, making the feat even more impressive.

NOT: The Hawks got little from their three-guard lineup, which consisted of DeShawn Stevenson, Devin Harris and Jeff Teague. None of them shot 50 percent from the field and they also struggled defensively.

GOOD MOVE: The decision to play Norris Cole and Joel Anthony continues to pay dividends on the defensive side of the ball. They have both provided sparks the past two games with their energy.

BAD MOVE: Hawks were unable to contain Wade or James. This is usually a losing recipe. When both players are able to score at will, there's not much the opposition can do. The fact Wade and James shot at such high percentage made things much more difficult for the Hawks.

NOTABLE: Heat forward Udonis Haslem and guard Terrel Harris were both held out because of the flu ... Rashard Lewis started in place of Haslem ... Hawks forward Kyle Korver (back) could return as early as Wednesday's game in Orlando ... Atlanta center Horford recorded his sixth straight double-double.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Wednesday vs. Warriors, Saturday vs. Wizards, Tuesday vs. Timberwolves. For the Hawks, Wednesday @ Magic, Thursday vs. Bobcats, Saturday vs. Warriors.

• Hawks: Scott
• Heat: Harris, Haslem

• Hawks: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 19
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #77 Karl Lane, #42 Eric Lewis
• Attendance: 19600
• Duration: 2:06