Wade, defense, key come from behind win over Atlanta

Sunday, 07 March 2010 04:27 PM Adrian Dy

The fourth quarter was delayed for several minutes as the scoreboard read Heat 172 - Hawks 77. While the score might have been off, it turned out to be an omen for the end of the game.

Dwayne Wade led his squad on both sides of the court and finished with 38 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists as the Miami Heat (32-31) overcame injuries and suspensions to beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks (40-22), 100-94.

The Heat went small for most of the game as Jermaine O'Neal was sidelined in the second quarter with a left knee injury. Dorell Wright also sat out with a left knee injury and point guard Rafer Alston missed the game for personal reasons. After the game it was announced that he had been suspended indefinitely by the team.

But the players Miami had were enough to overcome what was at one point a 12 point lead by the Atlanta Hawks. Aside from Wade, Quentin Richardson continued his hot streak from beyond the arc, shooting fifty percent from the field, including 5 triples, for 22 points, while hauling down 11 boards. 2008 second overall pick Michael Beasley also snapped his streak of bad games at an ideal time, chipping in 22 as well.

Atlanta's Joe Crawford led the Hawks with 24 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, including a four-point play at the 8:42 mark in the fourth quarter. The rest of the team though struggled to make shots. The starting five went 20 for 53 from the field as Miami's zone defense shut down what had earlier been some prolific scoring. After three quarters of scoring 20 points or more, the Hawks were held to just 17 in the final canto. They shot 6 of 20 in that period.

The win, third in a row for the team, was important for the Heat, who need to create some separation between them and the two teams fighting for the eight spot in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls and the Charlotte Bobcats. The Hawks on the other hand, dropped to the fourth spot in the same conference.

GAME NOTES:

Wade made another long buzzer beater at the end of the second quarter, a 38-footer to cut the Atlanta lead to just 4.
Despite the personnel problems, Miami managed to outscore Atlanta in fastbreak points (18 to 11) and points in the paint (36-26)
A game removed from when Mike Bibby, Al Horford and Josh Smith all contributed more than 20 points each (versus Golden State), the trio combined for just 33 points in this one.
Heat forward Udonis Haslem played in game number 500. He is second to Alonzo Mourning, who totaled 593 games in service to the team.
The Hawks' record on the road is .500, 15 wins and 15 losses.

Scores
MIAMI HEAT 100 : D. Wade - 38, M. Beasley - 22, Q. Richardson - 22, J. Magloire - 5, M. Chalmers - 3, U. Haslem - 3, J. O'Neal - 3, J. Anthony - 2, C. Arroyo - 2, D. Cook - 0, J. Jones - 0
ATLANTA HAWKS 94 : J. Crawford - 24, J. Johnson - 20, J. Smith - 17, A. Horford - 10, Joe Smith - 8, M. Bibby - 6, M. Williams - 6, M. Evans -3, Z. Pachulia - 0, M. West - 0

Quarter Scoring
22 - 27, 52 - 56, 76 - 77, 100 - 94

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