Hawks 100 - 92 Heat
Final
  for this game

McGrady fuels Hawks; Heat suffer first loss

Jan 3, 2012 - 5:30 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Tracy McGrady scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, as the Atlanta Hawks downed Miami 100-92 to hand the Heat their first loss of the season.

Joe Johnson had a team-high 21 points, Al Horford added 16 points and nine rebounds and Jeff Teague scored 15 points for the Hawks, who suffered their first loss of the season at Houston on Saturday.

"Until we can bring that type of effort on a consistent basis, you'll see two different ball clubs," said Hawks coach Larry Drew. "We have to become a more consistent ball club."

The Heat had won their first five games, but were outscored 33-21 in the fourth quarter on Monday. LeBron James had 28 points, six assists and seven boards, Chris Bosh added 19 points and Shane Battier and Norris Cole finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Dwyane Wade had 12 points and 10 assists but went just 4-of-17 from the floor.

Wade's struggles went hand-in-hand with his team's. He was effective early, scoring nine points on 3-of-8 shooting and handing out nine assists as the Heat held a 50-47 lead at the half.

They were up 71-67 heading into the fourth, but shot just 36.8 percent in the final quarter, which included a 1-of-6 effort from Wade, and allowed the Hawks hit 5-of-7 three-pointers.

Atlanta opened the quarter with a 15-3 run. Miami cut the deficit to 88-84 with 3 1/2 minutes left, but Josh Smith drove home an alley-oop dunk and blocked James on the other end, which led to a McGrady trey, as the Hawks claimed a nine-point lead, sealing the win.

In all, the Hawks benefited by forcing Miami into a half-court game and playing zone, as the Heat managed just 10 fast-break points on the night.

"We know a lot of teams are going to try to stop us from getting out on the break and stop our man-to-man offense and go to the zone," said James. "We have to continue to work at it with the limited amount of practice time that we have and continue to get better at it throughout the year."

Game Notes

Miami's 5-0 start was its best in franchise history, topping its 4-0 start in 2004-05...The Hawks conclude a three-game road trip at Chicago on Tuesday...The Heat wrap up a three-game homestand Wednesday against the Pacers.






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