Miami Heat comeback comes up short in MLK Day loss

The Miami Heat second half comeback falls short as they lose 121-113 to the MLK day Atlanta Hawks and their All-Star backcourt of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young. Miami got incredible performances from their own All-Stars, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, but it was too little too late.

The Atlanta Hawks were unstoppable in the first half as they shot a scorching 26-of-39 (66.7%) from the field and 8-of-12 (66.7%) from three. A lot of it had to do with the fact that the Hawks were hitting nearly every shot they took, but it also felt like the Heat were playing with a lack of defensive intensity we have come to expect since the new year. Atlanta had four different players in double figures in the first half alone and were ultimately spear headed by the guard duo of Murray and Young. Specifically Murray, who was on an absolute tear from start to finish as he finished with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from three point range to go with seven assists, four assists, two steals, one block and no fouls. He was making life difficult for all of Miami's guards with his tenacity on the perimeter and his shot making along with his celebrations have him climbing the ranks on some Heat fans hate list. Also, while Trae played a solid game the Heat always find a way to make life difficult for him. He's a star in this league so he's going to get his, but while he finished with 24 points, eight assists, three rebounds and four steals he also ended the game with 10 turnovers.

As for the Miami Heat, it was extremely encouraging to watch them fight back in the second half and make this a game. The defensive intensity was on another level in the third quarter and they were executing their offense with precision and most of that was because of Bam Adebayo. He had a monster game that ended with a stat line of 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks. He was everywhere on the floor and once he got settled into the game this Heat team looked different. Unfortunately, after trailing by as many as 26 points the Heat just didn't have enough to get them over the top.

While there is no one reason why Miami lost this game, it's hard not to think that leaving Jimmy Butler on the bench for a minute or two too long in the fourth quarter had something to do with it. This game was within single digits with just under 10 minutes to go, but Butler didn't enter the game until there was 7:37 remaining and Bam was subsequently subbed out. Butler did great to keep things level while Bam was on the bench, but the Hawks had already taken back momentum of the game and that was all she wrote. Jimmy was in complete control in the second half after missing a few bunnies in the first as he finished with a game high 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. This game also featured the return of Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin to the starting lineup, but as you would expect from players that are coming back from injuries they struggled to get into a rhythm. Herro was 5-of-14 from the field and 0-of-7 from deep through the first three quarters and Martin got into early foul trouble that prevented him from making an impact in the first half. No question his perimeter defense would have made a difference on the likes of Murray and Young. Plus, his cutting, finishing and shooting looked solid so he wasn't given a chance to gain momentum and put his mark on this game.

Lastly lets get to the rest of the roster, Gabe Vincent fell back down to earth as he struggled from the field shooting 2-of-7 from three, but his defense, as you would expect, was still there. Max Strus couldn't get his shot to fall, but unlike previous games he didn't make his presence felt by doing the "other things". Need to see more from him off the bench, but his shot has been looking much better over the last 15 or so games. Orlando Robinson didn't have his best game as the drop off when Bam went to the bench was much more noticeable in this one. I usually don't like to point out +/- alone, but he was a -14 in his 11 minutes of play while Bam was a team-high +6. As for Victor Oladipo, he wasn't nearly as aggressive looking for his own bucket as we have come to expect, but he took it upon himself to be the primary playmaker for Miami finishing the game with 10 assists and zero turnovers.

Overall, this game is simple to explain. A scorching hot first half from the Atlanta Hawks followed by a competitive second half between these division rivals. Next, the Miami Heat will be facing the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, January 18th at 8:00 PM EST at the Smoothie King Center. With the Pelicans dealing with injuries to Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Herbert Jones the possibility for a trap game is absolutely there, but Miami has been playing with a different level of effort and intensity on both ends over the past few weeks and I expect to see more of the same in this one.