(Field Level Media) Rookie point guard Trae Young had a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the host Miami Heat 115-113 last night.
Trailing by two points, Miami had the ball after a timeout with 14.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But Dwyane Wade, coming off a 35-point game, passed up an open jumper on the left wing and got the ball to Josh Richardson, whose 3-pointer missed off the front rim to end the game.
Miami, which has lost six straight home games, was led by Richardson, who scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Atlanta won its second straight game overall and also snapped a seven-game road losing skid.
The Heat tied a franchise record with 20 steals. Atlanta played with energy all night. Hawks wing Kent Bazemore closed the first half with a 25-foot 3-pointer. At the end of the third quarter, Bazemore tried another long 3-pointer. This time he missed, but Omari Spellman tracked the rebound and scored on a put-back dunk.
Miami, with its highest-scoring first quarter of the season, took a 38-35 lead while shooting 60.0 percent from the floor. Atlanta was also hot, shooting 61.9 percent.
The top scorer in the first quarter was Heat guard Wayne Ellington, who had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep.
In the second quarter, Atlanta stayed hot while Miami cooled off. The Hawks took a 68-52 lead into the break by shooting 56.1 percent in the first 24 minutes, including 8-of-18 on 3-pointers (44.4 percent). Atlanta was also plus-four on rebounds and plus-three on free throws made.
The Heat settled for 45 percent first-half shooting. Ellington missed all four of his 3-point tries in the second quarter.
Miami trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter but cut its deficit to 100-86 by the end of the period.
Richardson’s layup with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter gave Miami its first lead since the second period, capping a 14-0 run. However, the Heat could not hold their advantage, and Richardson’s final miss proved costly.
