The Atlanta Hawks survive the short-handed Miami Heat, 93-90, despite Dwight Howard leaving the game in the third quarter with a bruised left thigh. The Heat have now lost six straight while the Hawks have won five straight in the 2016-17 season of the NBA.
Dwight Howard still managed to put up a double-double despite just playing 24 minutes. He scored 11 points and grabbed 11 boards while guarding budding center Hassan Whiteside who dominated the board with his NBA season-high 25 rebounds.
Howard has notched his eighth double-double in 10 games and have really made his presence felt as the key cog in the middle for the Atlanta Hawks. "I think he really makes a difference every night," said Hawks head coach Mike Budenholer. "Whiteside is such a big force on the boards, the lobs, the offensive rebounding, the shot-blocking. Having someone like Dwight can mitigate that and help us," Budenholer explained.
The Hawks are currently the best in the NBA league in forcing turnovers and they did that against the Heat. The Heat committed 23 turnovers which the Hawks converted to 25 points. The Atlanta Hawks were also sloppy with the ball and committed 19 turnovers but the Miami Heat weren't able to take advantage of their opportunities as much as the Hawks did.
The Miami Heat were without point guard Goran Dragic, who is dealing with a sprained ankle, and Justice Winslow, who injured his wrist. With two of their starters sidelined, the Heat had to look for offensive production from the likes of Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Derrick Williams and Dion Waiters who all had at least six points each in the 2016-17 NBA season.
For the second night in a row, the Miami Heat lost by four points or less against an elite team. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs by four points and now to the Atlanta Hawks by three points. In both games, they have played strong in the final minutes of the game but couldn't pull out a win.
The Heat are currently 2-8 but their eight losses have come from playoff teams like the Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs. Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets and the Hawks. They did win their two games against non-playoff caliber teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Orlando Magic.
Despite the losses piling up, there is plenty of reasons to be positive about for the Miami Heat. "This is where you just have to have great mental resolve to stay the course," said Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra. "You really do because we're seeing progress. It's not perfect basketball but we're actually developing some collective toughness and grit right now," he added. For more NBA 2016-17 news and updates, keep reading Gamenguide.