MIAMI — There were plenty of doubts about whether the Hawks would be able to beat the Heat in a play-in game and head to the playoffs. But the Hawks silenced the doubters and downed the Heat 116-105 Tuesday night to secure the No. 7 seed.
Here are five observations:
1. Coming into the night, the Hawks knew that they needed to be a physical team to match the Heat. They followed their game plan, getting into the Heat’s bodies and playing their game instead of giving in to their opponent.
The Hawks attacked the basket early as they got out into transition quickly to try and beat the Heat’s defense. With the Heat still off balance, the Hawks got into their next actions quickly. The Hawks took advantage, as they got plenty of open looks around the floor.
An early 3-pointer from John Collins with 10:19 left in the first quarter gave the Hawks the lead, despite the Heat drawing first blood. The Hawks never trailed the rest of the game despite several runs from the Heat.
Miami cut the deficit to 73-68 with 6:15 in the third. But the Hawks kept attacking.
“That was a big emphasis tonight being more physical, and I think that’s the main thing,” Trae Young, who had 25 points, said. “We’re just more physical, played faster, didn’t let them really set up on defense and get on half court. We were playing more in attack mode and transitioning and help.”
2. Since Quin Snyder took over as coach, he’s encouraged the Hawks to crash the offensive glass.
The Hawks pulled down season-high 22 offensive rebounds Tuesday, with 26 of their points coming off second-chance tries.
The Hawks outrebounded the Heat, grabbing a season-high 63 rebounds to the Heat’s 39. Eight players in the nine-man rotation had at least one offensive rebound.
“Well, we’ve got some guys, they like to do it,” Snyder said. “Something that’s important to our team, when you have strengths that you’ve got, some guys will feel like they can do that.”
3. Center Clint Capela gave the Hawks the biggest boost on the offensive glass. He primarily matched up with Heat big man Bam Adebayo. Capela had his hands full in limiting Adebayo to his season average of nine rebounds.
Capela had 21 rebounds, eight of them coming on the offensive glass after averaging four offensive boards per game this season.
The 28-year-old has often tried to muscle to the basket after grabbing an offensive rebound. In Tuesday’s game, he showed patience, getting the ball out to his teammates to get opportunities rolling.
“You can impact the game a lot of different ways,” Snyder said. “Sometimes it’s passing, sometimes it’s rebounding, screening, whatever it is, and he’s a selfless player, you know, and Clint is one of those guys you appreciate having as a teammate. And those are the things that he’s done.”
4. Coming off the bench, Capela had big help on the glass from Saddiq Bey and Jalen Johnson. The two along with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu have continued to make the Hawks’ “Bench Mob” one of the best in the league.
In the second quarter, the bench, Young and Dejounte Murray created some separation from the Heat. They ballooned the team’s lead to 63-39 with 2:37 left in the quarter.
The put the pressure on, continuing to push the Hawks’ pace, if not picking it up at points in their stint. It opened up opportunities for Bogdanovic and Bey, while Onyeka Okongwu played through contact.
5. The Hawks did not have the best odds to beat the Heat. They were five-point underdogs before tip off, while also dealing with doubts from journalists who cover the league.
But Murray, who scored 18 points, made sure to let doubters know that the team would look to prove everyone wrong. In a tweet, Murray “JOKES ON YOU” while tagging ESPN immediately following the game.
Post-game though, he highlighted the team’s focus coming into the night.
“We came out and I feel like just on the plane ride here, you seen everybody locked in,” he said.
Stat to know
7 -- This was the Hawks’ first win in Miami since March 2, 2021, ending a seven-game losing streak in an arena that has had multiple name changes in that span.
Quotable
“Box out and go get the ball.” -- Dejounte Murray on what worked for the Hawks on the glass.
Up next
Now the Hawks ready themselves to face the Celtics, who swept them in all three meetings during the regular season, on Saturday in Boston.
