Kendrick Nunn #25 of the Miami Heat reacts to a dunk against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first quarter at American Airlines Arena on December 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael Reaves / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Kendrick Nunn scored a team-high 24 points as the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to six games with a 109-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Miami received 16 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, while Precious Achiuwa and Tyler Herro each had 14 points. Goran Dragic, starting his first game for Miami since Feb. 5, had 13 points.
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South Florida native John Collins returned home and had 34 points with 10 rebounds to lead Atlanta. Collins had 19 points in the third, his career high for a quarter. His 34 points were one short of his season high.
Atlanta also got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Clint Capela. The NBA’s leader in offensive rebounds, Capela had nine of his boards off missed shots from his own team.
Hawks star Trae Young, who entered the game averaging 27.8 points, was held to just 15. He missed his first five shots and had just six points until 6:04 left in the fourth.
Yet Young nearly had a triple-double, finishing with nine assists and eight rebounds on a night when he went 3 of 14 from the field.
Jimmy Butler, who leads Miami in scoring, assists and steals, missed the game due to inflammation in his right knee. The Heat is now 4-9 without Butler this season and 13-8 when he plays.
The Heat did get Herro back from a hip injury. The team’s third-leading scorer, who had missed three consecutive games, had 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Miami led 26-21 after the first quarter and 54-44 at halftime. Miami’s first-half advantage was built on defense by holding Atlanta to 35.6-percent shooting and with offensive aggression, holding a 32-20 edge on points in the paint.
But Collins made eight of his 10 shots in the third quarter as Atlanta closed its deficit to 78-77. The Hawks were the aggressors in the third, outscoring the Heat in the paint 22-12.
Young, who was scoreless in the third, went on a personal 6-0 run, all on free throws, as the Hawks tied the score 92-92 with 4:31 remaining in the game.
But Miami closed with a 14-4 run to even its record at 17-17. The last time Miami was at .500 was at 4-4.
Atlanta lost its second straight game.