The Atlanta Hawks were back in action on Friday night, taking on the Miami Heat at State Farm Arena. Atlanta was looking for their second consecutive victory after [beating Philadelphia](/recaps/68913/hawks-start-second-half-of-season-with-117-107-win-against-76ers) last night.
Jonathan Kuminga, who is set to be re-evaluated next week as he recovers from a bone bruise in his knee, was the only player listed on the injury report for Atlanta. Miami, meanwhile, boasted a clean bill of health, with Tyler Herro suiting up for the first time since January 15th.
A sluggish start from Atlanta saw the Heat race out to a 29-16 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Hawks shot just 7-for-24 (29.2%) from the floor, and just 1-for-8 (12.5%) from three. They also turned the ball over 4 times, leading to 7 Miami points in the opening frame.
After coming up empty on their first few possessions of the second quarter, Corey Kispert injected some life into State Farm arena with a couple of buckets in transition.
A few possessions later, Jalen Johnson splashed home a triple to cut Miami’s lead to 11.
Things really started to pick up for Atlanta midway through the second. An Alexander-Walker triple at the 6:34 mark kickstarted a 17-7 Hawks run over the next four minutes.
CJ McColum started to cook, hitting three during over the run.
Jalen Johnson capped off the quarter with a pretty drive and score, plus the foul.
At the break, Atlanta trailed 57-51. After their miserable start shooting the basketball, the Hawks shot 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the perimeter in the second quarter — a big part of their effort to get themselves back in the game.
Unfortunately, Atlanta started the second half much like they started game. They made just four out of their first 17 shot-attempts of the third quarter, with Miami extending the lead to 14 at the 5:20 mark of the period after a three-pointer from Davion Mitchell.
Still, the Hawks did their best to keep this one a contest. McCollum and Alexander-Walker continued to keep the offense afloat, scoring all 15 of Atlanta’s points in the final five minutes of the period — including this buzzer-beater from NAW. Through three quarters, Atlanta trailed 87-75.
Miami put the game to bed early in the fourth quarter — opening the period on a 9-0 run to open up a commanding 21-point lead. While Atlanta continued to fight, cutting the lead to 15 at one point, there were few highlights to share from the remainder of the contest. In the end, the Hawks trudged off the floor on the wrong side of a 128-97 defeat.
Jalen Johnson finished with a 16 point, 16 rebound, 11 assist triple-double (his 11th of the season), though it was a tough shooting night for the All-Star, finishing just 6-for-22 from the field. Onyeka Okongwu led the team in scoring with 22 points, while McCollum and Alexander-Walker chipped in with 20 points apiece.
Tyler Herro was the high man for Miami, pouring in 24 points in 23 minutes in his return to action. Bam Adebayo added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
A tough defeat in the first game of a five-game home stand for Atlanta. They will look to get back to winning ways on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets.