Heat loses to Atlanta Hawks, will need win on Friday to make playoffs

A Heat season that has felt like a season-long slog, with one step forward followed by one step back, now teeters on the brink of expiration.

Miami was a hot mess in the first half -- falling behind by 24 -- then rallied twice in the second half but ultimately succumbed to the Atlanta Hawks, 116-105, in a play-in game on Tuesday night at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami.

The Heat was pounded on the glass, 63-39, repeatedly allowed second-chance points, and could never pull closer than six in the fourth quarter.

Tuesday’s result sends the Hawks to the playoffs (and a first-round series against Boston) while leaving the Heat one loss from elimination.

On Friday night, the Heat will play host to the winner of Wednesday’s Toronto-Chicago play-in game, with the loser eliminated and the winner advancing to play the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in a first-round playoff series beginning on Sunday.

The Heat lost all three games against the Bulls this season and dropped three of four against Toronto.

“Nothing about this season has been easy,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re going to do this the hard way. We’re going to put our arms around each other, get to the film.”

Despite the best efforts of Kyle Lowry, who scored a season-high 33 points, the Heat ultimately could never fully climb out of a 63-39 first half hole.

Miami rallied furiously, outscoring Atlanta 25-7 late in the second quarter and early in the third to close within five. A Lowry-led run in the fourth pulled Miami to within six, but Miami drew no closer.

Lowry kept the Heat afloat with his best offensive game of the season, with 19 points in the first half and 14 in the fourth. Lowry finished 11 for 16 from the field, including 6 for 9 on threes, with five assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes.

Tyler Herro scored 17 of 26 in the second half, shooting 12 of 23 from the field.

But the Heat, overall, wasn’t efficient enough offensively, closing at 42.9 percent from the field.

“With their length, it made them look like they were two places at once,” Spoelstra said.

Jimmy Butler (21 points) missed multiple layups, shot 3 for 12 in an 11-point first half and closed 6 for 19 from the field, with nine assists but three turnovers.

Bam Adebayo (12 points) didn’t score until the Heat was down 14 in the second quarter, shot 5 for 12 and was outrebounded 21-9 by Hawks center Clint Capela.

Adebayo said “we have to figure out a way” to get other scorers going but get him involved offensively more.

Adebayo said: “When you see the ball bounce in their direction the whole game, it’s deflating.”

Gabe Vincent shot 2 for 6 before limping off in the fourth quarter. Max Strus was 1 for 5.

Meanwhile, Hawks guard Trae Young - who has shot just 30 percent against the Heat in nine games dating to last year’s playoff series - was more efficient on Tuesday, shooting 5 for 11 in the first half and closing with 25 points (8 for 18 shooting), with eight rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers.

“He’s a hell of a player, makes all the right reads,” Butler said.

This was Young’s best game against the Heat in a long time, and it was needed. Dejounte Murray added 18, and Saddiq Bey scored 17.

The Hawks allowed the Heat to hang around by missing 11 of their 27 free throws. But Atlanta bludgeoned the Heat on the boards, including 22-6 on the offensive glass.

“We definitely have got to start out better; that’s been a problem of ours all year long,” Butler said. “Rebounding was horrendous. We didn’t put body on body and they got all the rebounds, all the second chance points.”

The Hawks scored 26 second-chance points, and all felt important, including three dunks in the fourth. Conversely, Miami scored just six second-chance points.

“It’s like the ball was bouncing right to them,” Lowry said. “But at the same time, they were double crashing, triple crashing. It’s tough being out there not 6-9.”

How much was the rebounding a reflection of lack of effort? -

“I don’t know,” Spoelstra said. “There are some we missed block outs. At one point, it was a comedy of errors-- deflections, missed balls through our hands. Our guys were battling for sure, but you also have to do things right and come up with the ball at times.”

And three-point shooting, a Heat Achilles’ heel all season, remained problematic Tuesday; Miami shot 4 for 16 on threes in the first half and 11 for 34 for the game (32.4 percent). Without Lowry’s 6 for 9, Miami would have been 5 for 25 on threes.

Even the Heat’s perennial hallmark, its defense, continued a disappointing two-month trend for the game’s first 18 minutes.

Since the All Star break, the Heat has been the NBA’s 22nd ranked team defensively (in points allowed per 100 possessions) and the Hawks have been the league’s fourth best team offensively. That trend held up early on Tuesday, with the Hawks capitalzing on numerous Heat defensive breakdowns. Atlanta shot 63 percent in seizing a 63-39 first half lead.

The Heat closed the first half on an 11-2 run, thanks largely to 19 from Lowry, then began the third on a 14-5 run.

But after the Heat closed to within 71-66, Young hit a three and a bank shot and two free throws in the ensuing minutes, and Atlanta got a basket on an offensive rebound and a dunk in transition to close the third and went to the fourth ahead 91-78.

The Hawks went up 13 before a Lowry three pulled Miami to within 97-91 with 7:42 remaining in the game. From there, Bogdan Bogdanovic dunked off a Capela rebound and Dejounte Murray hit two key baskets.

Lowry hit two threes in the next three minutes, but the Hawks responded each time with baskets.

The Heat’s struggles on threes (a problem all year) and defense (a problem since the All Star break) weren’t a shock on Tuesday.

But Butler’s poor shooting night was unexpected; he shot a career-best 53.9 percent from the field this season, including 61.6 percent since the All Star break.

Also surprising: a flood of jaw-dropping missteps in the nightmarish first half, including Caleb Martin - with nobody near him - stepping out of bounds; three missed layups from Butler; Butler losing a pass off his fingers; Herro committing two unforced turnovers; and Adebayo missing two free throws and a layup.

Spoelstra - who had used only three bench players (Lowry, Kevin Love and Martin) in the two most recent games that Butler played - went 10 deep in the first half, searching for answers. But Victor Oladipo went scoreless in his nine first half minutes, and Cody Zeller logged less than a minute.

Spoelstra went to Zeller, not Love, when Adebayo rested in the second half. Oladipo didn’t play in the second half. Love and Zeller each played just over three minutes for the game.

The Hawks’ victory snapped the Heat’s streak of 17 consecutive home wins against division opponents. Miami entered 27-14 at home this season, including 2-0 against Atlanta.

For those already thinking ahead to the offseason, keep this in mind:

Even if the Heat loses Friday, Miami would have just a 0.5 chance to secure the No. 1 pick (generational talent Victor Wembanyama) in the weighted draft lottery, a 0.56 chance for the second pick and a 2.41 percent chance for a top four pick. The second and third picks are expected to be Scoot Henderson (a dynamic 6-2 guard) and Alabama forward Brandon Miller.