The Hawks ran out of juice after coming back from a 15-point deficit and forcing extra periods against the Heat. They lost 117-111 on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks trailed the Heat 100-99 with 27.1 to play before Jimmy Butler split a pair from free throws. The miss kept the Hawks’ hopes alive before Dejounte Murray drove in and hit a high tear-drop jumper after Bam Adebayo went up to block and got whistled for goaltending.
The Hawks held the Heat shotless on their first three possessions in overtime, going up 105-101 before Nikola Jovic drained a 3 in front of the Hawks bench. Then Heywood Highsmith hit a corner 3 to tie the game at 107 and sent the game to double overtime after Murray’s jumper fell short.
The Hawks would fall apart in the second overtime period though, allowing the Heat to go on an 8-2 run with four straight points from Herro, a jumper from Highsmith and a reverse layup from Jovic.
“I think you want to stay aggressive, and we had a few good looks,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “That didn’t fall. So, I don’t really begrudge that. As long as guys are confident, and they’re playing for each other.”
2. Murray gave the Hawks a chance, scoring 29 points, pulling down 13 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists. He played methodically early as his shots were not falling. So he found his teammates for buckets accounting for 62% of the Hawks scoring in the first quarter, with nine points coming off his assists.
He remained steady throughout the first three quarters, exploding for 11 points in the fourth with his final basket in regulation sending the game to extra periods.
But Murray often looks past his individual stat line and focuses on the end result. The Hawks came so close, yet just needed a little more to get over the hump.
“The second half I think we just came out ready to play and it worked in our favor as far as having control of the game,” Murray said. “And you know, great team, great coach over there, and they just ended up executing and getting the win.”
3. Though the Hawks lost Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain) midway through the third quarter, they continued to fight through. The Hawks cut the Heat’s lead and tied it at 75 after trailing them by six when Johnson left the game with 5:25 to play in the third quarter.
Johnson has given his team a presence on the defensive boards but the Hawks still outrebounded the Heat in the second half to complete their stops and force the much-needed possessions.
Despite the absence of Johnson, 18% of the Hawks’ points came off possessions in transition, with them averaging 145 points per 100 transition plays.
4. With Johnson out, De’Andre Hunter gave the team a lift, scoring 11 of the Hawks’ last 14 points in the third quarter. Hunter hit a 3 off an offensive rebound from Murray with 4:42 to play. He then hit a pullup jumper before hitting a 3 that forced the Heat to take a timeout.
Hunter has provided the Hawks with a steady presence since his return from injury at the end of January. He’s averaged 16.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30 games.
Much of that has come off of the bench but over the last 10 games Hunter has started with Johnson nursing an ankle sprain. The Hawks opted to keep him in the starting lineup when Johnson returned and Hunter has continued to produce, averaging 16.9 points per game, while leaning on his prior experience as a starter.
“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Hunter said. “I was open, I think it was DJ found me a couple of times, so just make a shot, that’s pretty much it.”
5. The Hawks had a chance to make up some ground on Tuesday but the standings will remain the same.
The Bulls ended up falling to the Knicks in their own matchup on Tuesday. But with the Hawks dropping their game, the Bulls maintain their one-game lead in the standings.
Stat to know
1 - Murray recorded his first triple-double of the season and the 19th of his career.
Quotable
“I don’t really like dudes scoring on me. So, I guess you can say that’s my mindset. But yeah, that’s my biggest thing. I don’t like when people score on me.” -- Hunter on his defensive mindset.
Up next
The Hawks host the Hornets on Wednesday for their final home game of the regular season.
