Heat vs Hawks Takeaways: The Miami Heat Bounce Back With Best Game Of Year

The Miami Heat (27-30) avoided three consecutive losses with a dominant victory against the Atlanta Hawks (27-32) 131-109.

Here’s a look at four major takeaways from the matchup:

1. Duncan Robinson had one of his best games of the year.

Robinson finished with 24 points, five rebounds, and six assists on 56.3 percent shooting and 46.2 percent from three-point range. After their worst three-point shooting performance of the year, Robinson’s six threes were a significant reason this was one of the Heat’s best. They need Robinson’s elite shooting to help unlock their offense.

2. Tyler Herro finished with his ninth double-double of the season.

Herro finished with 24 points, two rebounds, and 10 assists on 43.8 percent shooting and 50 percent from three-point range. Beyond his four threes, his best attribute was his playmaking. He got into the paint several times and swung the ball to the perimeter, where many players could knock down their shots. 

3. Haywood Highsmith returned to the rotation and did not disappoint. 

After falling out of the rotation since the Jimmy Butler trade, Highsmith finally got some playing time, and his contributions were everywhere. He finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 80 percent shooting and 80 percent from three-point range. Highsmith’s season-high four offensive rebounds constantly led to three-point shots all game. He showed his value defensively by switching onto Trae Young several times for key defensive stops and finished with one steal and one block.

4. Davion Mitchell had his best game on the Heat.

Mitchell finished with 20 points, two steals, and six assists on 87.5 percent shooting and 100 percent from his five attempts from three-point range. Mitchell only missed one shot all game. His role as the starting point guard will develop in time, but the Heat have been missing his ability to knock down threes while being an elite defender since they let Gabe Vincent walk in 2023.

MIAMI HEAT MAY LOSE A KEY PIECE FOR A WHILE DUE TO A FRACTURED HAND

During his breakout season, where he finally gets a defined role as the Miami Heat’s sixth man, Nikola Jovic will face another setback to his career.

During the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks, Jovic collided with Kyle Kuzma and fractured his hand. At halftime, he went to get X-rays on his hand, which revealed a fracture on the second metacarpal. He was ruled out for the rest of the game. Before exiting, he finished with seven points and two rebounds on 75 percent shooting and 50 percent from three-point range.

Stephen Curry suffered a similar injury in 2019, which kept him out for a few months and required surgery. The Heat haven’t estimated how long Jovic will be out. He will visit a specialist later this week to determine his outlook on recovery.

Jovic spoke about his post-game injury and gave an update on how he was feeling.

“It happened in the first quarter,” Jovic explained. “As soon as I came in, I kinda bumped into Kuzma. I’m not sure exactly what happened. I just felt it hurt a lot, and I guess it’s broken. I wouldn’t say I was shocked because it kinda got swollen up quickly during the game. I just didn’t want to come out because we were doing good.”

MIAMI HEAT LEGEND ACCUSED JIMMY BUTLER OF INTENTIONALLY MISSING GAMES FOR REST

Focusing only on the results of each of the Miami Heat's deep playoff runs with Jimmy Butler as their leader, the team was successful without winning a championship.

However, a significant reason for the Heat's success in the 2023 NBA Finals was because they weren’t expected to make it as far as they did as a play-in team. While Butler's absence wasn’t the only reason they were in the play-in tournament, the best player's lack of playing time hinders most teams from rising in the standings.

Not reaching the minimum game requirement was one of the main reasons the Heat didn’t want to give Butler a max extension at 35. He missed 18 games in 2023 and missed 22 games in 2024, which resulted in two consecutive play-in berths. Butler was injured in their most recent play-in matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Gil’s Arena Podcast, Tim Hardaway Sr. shared his thoughts on why he was so disappointed with Butler’s situation on the Heat ended before his trade to the Golden State Warriors.

“What I was mad with Jimmy is, you’re under contract,” Hardaway explained. “You're trying to get back at Pat, but you’re not getting back at Pat. You’re hurting your teammates. Them guys come in and work every day. They expect you to work every day, and you crying because he told you no.”

Hardaway later accused Butler of intentionally missing games despite not having a legitimate injury to keep him out.

“The only thing he wanted you to do is play more games,” Hardaway continued. “I don’t want to be in the play-in games anymore. I want to be in the playoffs and have a week off, and I want to prepare to be ready for our opponent. We would be fresh. Jimmy didn’t want to do that. Jimmy wanted to do what he continued to do and take games off. He wasn’t hurt. He was just taking games off.”

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook