Defense lets Hawks down

It’s all about the defense.

The Hawks are tied 1-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series following Wednesday’s 108-93 loss to Miami. There is one glaring reason for the contrasting outcomes of the two games.

In Game 1, the Hawks played with a defensive intensity that even pleased coach Mike Woodson. The result was a 26-point rout for the Hawks.

In Game 2, the Hawks failed to control the tempo on the defensive end. The result was a 15-point loss.

“We didn’t get any stops,” Woodson said. “We were pretty good in Game 1 in running them off the basket. We were not so good this time.”

Dwyane Wade scored 33 points, far more than the 19 he managed in Game 1. He punctuated the Heat win with a long 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:38 left and Joe Johnson in his face. It warranted a stare down of rap star T.I. who was sitting courtside. It ended the Hawks’ furious comeback attempt, giving the Heat a 101-91 lead.

“It’s hard to double him when he’s 30 feet from the bucket,” Woodson said.

It wasn’t just Wade. Jermaine O’Neal was a presence inside, scoring 19 points. Daequan Cook was a presence outside, scoring 20 points.

“We did everything we could offensively to control the pace,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said.

It helped — a lot. The Heat scored 44 more points in Game 2 than they did in Game 1.

The Heat hit 15 3-pointers in Game 2 after connecting on just four in Game 1. The Hawks had no answer for Wade and Cook, who each had six 3-pointers. They may have known an adjustment was coming, but they couldn’t stop it.

“They’ve had a chance to watch the film from Game 1,” Woodson said prior to the game. “They will make adjustments. It’s just a matter of how we react to it.”