Hawks Soar Over Heat With 43-Point Third Quarter

The Miami Heat are still winless this preseason following their 109-103 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

The Heat looked like they would pick up the elusive first win after a quarter of play but things quickly began to unravel. After leading by 15 going into the second quarter and seven at the half, Miami fell apart.

The Hawks outscored the Heat 43-18 in the third quarter and never looked back. Miami would go on to outscore Atlanta in the fourth quarter but the game was already out of reach. While the final score does not matter, the Heat would likely prefer better results this close to the regular season.

Mario Chalmers sat out with a sore right hip but it is not considered serious. The point guard who did not start the last two games should be back in action for Miami in its next game. Whether Chalmers or Norris Cole starts remains to be seen. Cole made his third consecutive start in this contest and gave the Heat 24 minutes. Cole ended up contributing nine points and four assists to go along with a steal.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra played this game more like a regular season game. In earlier preseason games, the starters sat out for the final stretch in games. In this one, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were both on the court towards the final buzzer. At point guard for the stretch run was Shabazz Napier who had a second straight solid game.

Napier played 24 minutes and scored 12 points along with four assists. The first rounder also made his lone attempt from three-point range. Napier still finds himself stuck behind Chalmers and Cole on the depth chart but is showing potential in his recent opportunities.

Wade had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes. Bosh who also logged 30 minutes had 22 points and nine rebounds. Of note were Wade's three-point attempts where he was 2-3. Earlier in the day, Wade stated an intent to work on his three-point output.