Bosh, Green Lead Heat Past Slumping Hawks 100-88
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ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Bosh scored 24 points, Gerald Green had 20 and the Miami Heat handed slumping Atlanta another home loss, beating the Hawks 100-88 on Monday night.
Goran Dragic added 12 points despite having part of a tooth knocked out in the third quarter. After the bleeding stopped, he returned to finish the game.
Miami won just 24 hours after rallying from 16 points down to beat Memphis, snapping a three-game losing streak. This time, the Heat led comfortably most of the way, the margin in double figures through nearly the entire second half.
Atlanta was coming off an ugly 103-78 loss two nights earlier to the San Antonio Spurs. This one wasn't much better, the Hawks hardly looking like the team that won 60 games and claimed top seed in the East a season ago.
Since a 7-1 start, the Hawks have lost 11 of 17 games.
Kent Bazemore returned to Atlanta's starting lineup and scored a career-high 28 points. He didn't get much help. The Hawks shot just 39.3 percent from the field.
Green made sure the Hawks didn't mount any sort of serious threat, scoring 11 points in the final quarter. He finished 9 of 14 from the field.
Luol Deng added 18 points for Miami.
Atlanta's Paul Millsap scored 18 points, but Al Horford, with 13, was the only other starter in double figures. Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver both made just 2 of 12 attempts, finishing with seven and five points respectively.
TIP-INS:
Heat: F Josh McRoberts said out his third straight game with a bruised right knee. "He's feeling a little bit better but not good enough to play," coach Erik Spoelstra said. ... Assistant coach Keith Smart was not with the team because of an undisclosed medical condition. ... Dwyane Wade had a rough night, hitting just 3 of 16 attempts and finishing with seven points.
Hawks: Bazemore was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the previous seven games. He took over for Thabo Sefolosha, who had started at small forward in 10 of the previous 11 games. The two went back to the roles they had at the beginning of the year. "It's really just trying to figure out the right mix or a good mix," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "We feel fortunate that we have two guys that we feel good about starting." ... Atlanta slipped to 8-6 at Philips Arena.
UP NEXT
Heat: Travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Wednesday.
Hawks: Host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
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