Balanced Hawks send Heat to 6th straight loss
MIAMI -- Dennis Schroder led a balanced offense with 18 points as the Atlanta Hawks won their fifth game in a row, defeating the struggling Miami Heat 93-90 on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Leading 89-88, Atlanta's Kent Bazemore made two free throws with 11.8 seconds left. Miami's Josh Richardson got a dunk on the other end, and Schroder's two free throws provided the final margin. Miami's Dion Waiters badly missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer.
The win may have been costly for Atlanta (8-2), which suffered a potentially key injury. Center Dwight Howard left the game in the third quarter due to a left quad contusion. He finished the game with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside starred as he has all season, producing 19 points, 25 rebounds, two steals and one block. The 25 rebounds tied his career high and are also the most for any player in the NBA this season.
Still, Miami (2-8) lost its sixth straight game. The Heat, playing without injured starters Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, are just 1-5 at home.
Miami ended the first quarter with a 25-22 lead. Whiteside had nine rebounds in the quarter, just two less than the entire Hawks team.
Atlanta surged with a 19-5 run over the final six minutes of the second quarter and the Hawks went into halftime with a 49-43 lead.
Miami shot just 40.0 percent in the first half as compared to 50.0 percent for Atlanta. The Heat also were minus-2 in turnover margin.
After Miami regained the lead early in the third quarter, Atlanta closed the period on a 10-3 run for a 72-67 advantage. There were nine lead changes through the first three quarters.
NOTES: Heat F Justise Winslow, who leads the team in minutes played, missed his first game of the season (injured left wrist). ... Heat G Rodney McGruder made his first NBA start. McGruder, a 25-year-old rookie from Kansas State, went undrafted in 2013, played professionally in Hungary and made his NBA debut this year on Oct. 26. ... Heat G Goran Dragic missed his third straight game (sprained left ankle). He could return Thursday when the Milwaukee Bucks visit. ... Miami is still without backup G Wayne Ellington (right thigh contusion). ... The Hawks played without backup C Tiago Splitter (right hamstring) and backup F Mike Scott (sore left knee). ... The Hawks led the league in turnovers forced and ranked second in assists heading into Tuesday's action. They also lead in fewest points allowed in the fourth quarter. ... Up next, Atlanta returns home to face Milwaukee on Wednesday.