Hawks at Heat
The Atlanta Hawks earned a rare win on Sunday behind a performance that is becoming commonplace from point guard Trae Young. Young will try to get his individual success to translate into another win when the Hawks visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
Young is fourth in the league in scoring (28.8 points) and fifth in assists (8.4) and went off for 30 points and nine assists in a 122-107 triumph at Charlotte on Sunday - Atlanta's second win in the last three games following a 10-game slide. "To me, that was his best game of the year," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters of Young. "I thought he had leadership on both sides of the floor. I thought he was engaged. He's yelling out their plays and barking to us and he was engaged and into bodies. And I thought, you know, when you're locked in on both sides of the basketball, and you're leading your team, he was composed, he still ends up with 30 and nine." The Heat had to work to maintain their perfect home record with an overtime win over Chicago on Sunday but come into Tuesday's meeting with a 10-0 record in their own arena. Miami comes in hot with wins in five of its last six overall games despite injuries to key players like Justise Winslow (back) and Goran Dragic (groin).
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (6-17): Atlanta knocked down a season-high 18 3-pointers in Sunday's triumph and handed out 28 assists on 44 total field goals as five players joined Young in double figures, including four off the bench. "That's probably about as balanced as we've played all year in terms of ball movement," Pierce told reporters. "Twenty-eight assists, we get up 40-something 3's, and they were clean looks, they were assisted looks. There was a lot of ball movement. I thought everybody was engaged on both sides of the floor." Veteran guard Vince Carter led the reserves with a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes.
ABOUT THE HEAT (17-6): Star swingman Jimmy Butler did not have his shot working on Sunday but made up for a 3-of-14 effort from the floor by going 17-of-21 from the free-throw line. "We could not get to our normal flow, and that's what great players do," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters of Butler. "They keep you alive with possessions and Jimmy did that the entire night. When the play was broken, he was able to find his way to the line and that kept us going and always kept us in striking distance." Butler is averaging 26 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists in five games this month - four wins.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks SG Kevin Huerter (shoulder) returned to the starting lineup on Sunday and scored nine points in 24 minutes.
2. Heat C Bam Adebayo is averaging 22.5 points and 13.5 rebounds over the last two games.
3. Miami swept a home-and-home set from Atlanta in October and took the last three in the series.