Heat rallies to beat Hawks

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

MIAMI -- The Hawks got started this time in Miami, but they couldn’t finish.

The Hawks were sharp at the beginning but succumbed in the closing moments of their 100-94 loss to the Heat on Saturday night. The Hawks led for most of the game and were up 92-90 with less than four minutes to play, but Miami forward Michael Beasley made plays late as the Hawks faltered.

The Heat ended the Hawks’ winning streak at four games and prevented them from winning in Miami for the first time since Dec. 12, 2008. The Heat pummeled the Hawks from the start during a January victory at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Hawks got off to a better start in the rematch and led by as many as 12 in the third quarter. But the Heat rallied behind Dwyane Wade and put away the Hawks with seven consecutive points from Beasley.

“I can’t fault the effort,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “The effort was great. We got the tempo the way we wanted it. But then their zone [defense] slowed us down.”

The Hawks made only six of 20 shots in the fourth quarter and had seven of their 13 turnovers in the period.

“We played well, and then we did something that’s not typical for us and threw the ball away,” said Hawks center Al Horford.

Wade scored 38 points, and Beasley and Quentin Richardson both had 22 for the Heat, which won its third consecutive game. Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and Joe Johnson 20 for the Hawks.

Crawford’s 3-pointer broke an 87-87 tie. After Beasley answered with a 3-pointer, Horford scored to give the Hawks a 92-90 lead with 3:40 to play.

Wade made a free throw to cut the lead to 92-91, and the Hawks had turnovers on their next two possessions on errant passes from Crawford and Josh Smith.

“We had too many turnovers,” Woodson said. “Blind passes when nothing was there. They capitalized on it.”

After Smith’s turnover, Beasley quickly scored on a dunk in transition. Crawford missed a 3-point attempt and then Beasley tipped in a miss for a 95-92 Heat lead with 1:16 left.

Smith missed a drive in the lane, and Beasley made another 3-pointer to make the score 98-92 with 46.8 seconds to play. The Hawks got within 98-94, but the Heat held them off.

The Hawks led 68-58 in the third quarter when Wade went to work. He made consecutive 3-pointers, scored on a fast-break dunk and made four free throws as Miami used an 18-5 run to take a 76-73 lead.

After getting fouled on a breakaway during the run, Wade walked into the stands as fans roared. The Heat fed off that energy to stay close to the Hawks from there.

Heat center Jermaine O’Neal, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds when Miami won at Philips Arena last month, didn’t play after halftime because of a left knee injury.