Heat control the inside in blowout of Hawks

The Hawks could charge the Heat rent for the amount of time spent in their paint.

The Heat scored 44 points inside the blue at Philips Arena and made 26 of 31 free throws in a 107-87 rout of the Hawks Sunday night in front of a national television audience. While the Hawks were settling for jump shots, the Heat were driving, dishing, rebounding and converting free throws to send the Hawks on a five-game road trip with a blowout.

“Any time a team is able to get that many fast-break points -- and we let those guys penetrate, get to the basket, get to the free-throw line – you are in for a long night,” said Willie Green, who led the Hawks with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. “We have to do a better job with our effort on the defensive end of the court. We have to be better in order for us to be an elite type of team. Right now we’ve got to look in the mirror and do a better job than we did tonight.”

The Hawks (18-10) gave up 21 fast-break points, were out-rebounded 52-38 and went to the free-throw line just seven times. They had a two-game win streak snapped, lost for the fifth straight time to the Heat in Atlanta and fell three games behind in the Southeast Division.

The Heat (21-7), who led by as many as 32 points, tied their best 28-game start in franchise history. They have won five of their past six and now have a 5-2 record against division opponents.

The Heat led by as many 25 points in the first half when the game was decided. Dwyane Wade’s tip of his missed layup and a free throw following the plus-one foul made for the large cushion.

The Heat used a 26-5 run to end the first quarter and start the second to pull out to a 34-16 lead. The Hawks followed with an 11-2 run of their own to get as close as seven points. However, the Heat ended the first half on a 27-12 run to go into intermission with a very comfortable 63-41 lead.

“When things weren’t going very well, when we were missing shots and physically they got up in us,” Drew said. “… They were clearly the aggressor and we did not respond. You could read our body language. When they made that run our body language was not very good. That is an area where we have to get better at. There is too much basketball to be played when they make a run.”

The Hawks’ first-half woes were clear. They could not stop the Heat inside as Miami had 30 points in the paint – compared to 10 for the Hawks. The Heat also made 19 of 22 free throws – compared to 4 of 5 for the Hawks. The Heat had 31 rebounds – compared to 13 for the Hawks.

By the end of the first 24 minutes, the Heat starters had outscored the Hawks starters 42-32 as Wade had 21 points, LeBron James had 14 and Chris Bosh had 10. No Hawk was in double figures with Joe Johnson having eight points and the all other starters with six points apiece.

As the Hawks settled for jump shots, they turned cold after a quick start. The Hawks made six of their first nine shots and then hit just 10 of 32 the remainder of the half.

James led the Heat with a game-high 23 points. Wade finished with 21 points and Bosh had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Mario Chalmers had 15 points and Norris Cole had 10 to round out Heat scores in double-figures.

“Bad shots are just as good as turnovers against a good team that really gets out and runs,” Drew said. “They lead the league in fast-break points. We settled for jump shots too often in the first half.”

Johnson finished with 12 points and now needs 13 to become the seventh player in Hawks history to reach 10,000 points.

“The hustle points – loose ball, rebounds, just them being more aggressive than we were from the start,” Johnson said of the difference. “They made a run in the second quarter and we never bounced back from it.”