Heat fire 17 3-pointers in win vs. Hawks
ATLANTA -- Guard Tyler Johnson came off the bench to score 23 points, including three of Miami's season-high 17 3-point baskets, and the Heat opened the second half of the season with a 108-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at Philips Arena.
Miami made 17 of 37 of its 3-point tries. Luke Babbitt made four, with Johnson and Wayne Ellington each making three. Six Miami players had at least a pair of treys. The Heat's previous best was 15 on Feb. 6 in a win over Minnesota.
The Heat (26-32) have won two straight games and 15 of their last 17. Atlanta (32-25) has lost two straight and five of its last 10. The victory gave Miami a split of the season's four-games.
Johnson shot 9-for-11 from the field and he added five rebounds and five assists. Goran Dragic had 17 points and six rebounds. Dion Waters scored 14 and Rodney McGruder added 13.
Atlanta was led by forward Paul Millsap, who scored 21 points, but only two in the second half, with four rebounds.
Atlanta missed the floor leadership of starting point guard Dennis Schroder, who was suspended for a game for reporting late after the All-Star Game break. Schroder failed to take his visa with his passport when he went home to Germany over the break. He missed two practices and didn't return to Atlanta until 11 p.m. on Thursday night.
Schroder was replaced in the lineup by Malcolm Delaney, who earned his first NBA start. Delaney scored five points.
Atlanta shot just 38.5 percent in the first half and only 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the line. That was quite a contrast from Miami, which made 11 of 19 3-point tries.
Miami led 25-24 at the end of the first period, but scored 38 in the second quarter and led 63-29 at halftime. The Heat had its biggest lead 63-46 when Tyler Johnson made two free throws, but the Hawks got a near-midcourt basket from Kent Bazemore at the horn to make it a 14-point game.
The Heat continued to build the lead, which reached 25 when Rodney McGruder converted a three-point play to give Miami an 87-62 lead with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
Miami led 87-66 after three quarters and it wasn't long before Atlanta removed its starters and turned it over to the reserves.
NOTES: Atlanta G Thabo Sefolosha returned after missing 10 games with a thigh injury. He scored two points in 21 minutes. ... Miami G Josh Richardson returned after missing 19 games with a foot injury. He played 13 minutes and did not score. ... F Ersam Ilyasova, acquired via a trade from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, made his Atlanta debut. His first shot was an air ball, but he finished with 10 points. ... The Hawks signed F Ryan Kelly and G Lamar Patterson to multi-year contracts to fill out the roster. Kelly played in nine games with the Hawks earlier this season. Patterson signed to a pair of 10-day contracts and appeared in four games. ... Atlanta wore '70s version blue jerseys on Friday. ... Both teams complete a back-to-back on Saturday. Atlanta travels to Orlando, while Miami hosts Indiana.