Miami Heat

The Miami Heat didn't win the same way in Game 2 as they did in Game 1. What got it done in Game 2 was a career night from their best player, Jimmy Butler.

Because on Tuesday, Jimmy snatched the life right out of them. When speaking about Coach Spoelstra’s thoughts on the game, Spo would insinuate that Game 1 was a figment of the imagination as well. What got it done in Game 2 was a career night from their best player, Jimmy Butler.

1. A game with great rhythm, this was not. The first half was messy for both sides, with plenty of free-throws, core players in foul trouble and turnovers ...

Of course the threes are only a minor compliment to the rest of his game, the cherry on top if you will, and the rest of his game was singing in this one as the Hawks, with their wings in foul trouble throughout, just couldn’t keep up with Butler’s physicality and timing. Atlanta still needs Young (a career-high 10 turnovers) to do so much, and the Heat are going to load up so many bodies in front of him, that the Hawks are going to need shooting to capitalize on how Miami is shooting the floor. 3. Atlanta’s big adjustment in this one – apart from simply showing up and being more competitive after a dud Game 1 – was to start John Collins at center alongside Danilo Gallinari. Along with Young, De’Andre Hunter and Kevin Huerter, that starting lineup had played just 38 minutes this season with Atlanta’s typically-great offense but a defensive rating (121.4) that would have been the worse defense in the league. For as much as the Hawks had zero defensive answers for the HEAT as a team in Game 1, they had nothing to offer Butler alone in Game 2. The third player in HEAT history to post a 45-5-5 in the playoffs – joining Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, who each did it once – and the first to post that line with zero turnovers. Maybe not statistically, given Atlanta’s 106.2 per 100 efficiency and 12-of-40 shooting – buoyed by Bogdan Bogdanovic catching fire in the fourth – but the spacing and half-court process was miles better.

The Miami Heat are hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday evening for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, and during the game P.J. Tucker went to the ...

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But Butler was every bit as good Tuesday night as he was during that bubble run — and the Miami Heat needed all his heroics. Butler scored a playoff career-high ...

Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven matchup have eventually won the series 92.4% of the time. The first half was back and forth, the game close for much of those opening quarters, and Kevin Huerter’s stepback 3-pointer with 8:59 left in the third pulled Atlanta within 64-62. Hawks: Atlanta had three players (Hunter, Huerter and Bogdanovic) with three fouls by halftime for only the second time this season. He said a Monday night conversation with Tucker resonated — Tucker basically told him to score more — and Butler clearly listened. ... Going back to the end of the regular season, Miami is 8-1 in its last nine games. “I think the difference in the game tonight was turnovers," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. The margin remained at least eight points for the next 11 minutes, before Atlanta began clawing back. He played the entire third quarter, but managed only two shots in that span — making both — and didn’t get to the foul line, while committing five turnovers in that period alone. A lot of those came in transition ... and I thought that was the difference." As such, the top-seeded Heat are going to Atlanta with a 2-0 lead. “You can't have 19 turnovers in a playoff game and expect to win games. As would be expected in a playoff series, pleasantries began being exchanged with more regularity.

MIAMI (AP) Jimmy Butler walked off the floor when his night's work was complete, lifted his arms in the air and heard a sold-out arena serenade him with ...

P.J. Tucker left Game 2 between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday evening, but later returned to the bench.

- CAN KRISTAPS STILL BE AN ALL-STAR? Ben Stinar and Haley Jordan sat down to talk about Washington Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis in a recent episode of Stinar For 3. - KEMBA WALKER CAN STILL HELP A CONTENDING TEAM: Kemba Walker's tenure with the New York Knicks appears to have ended. The Miami Heat are hosting the Atlanta Hawks for Game 2 on Tuesday evening in Florida, and during the game veteran forward P.J. Tucker headed to the locker room, but then later returned to the team's bench.

The Miami Heat's greatest player ever has become, somewhat, of an NBA wiseman. Check out how his impact is all over the NBA postseason.

He has been retired for three seasons, yet his impact is still being felt between the lines. Wade has always been vocal about the influence those three legends have had on him in all aspects of the game. Like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson, before him, the former Miami Heat star’s reach has gained him a budding player following.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta. Trae Young scored 25 for the Hawks, while De'Andre Hunter had 16 and John ...

Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven matchup have eventually won the series 92.4% of the time. The first half was back and forth, the game close for much of those opening quarters, and Kevin Huerter’s stepback 3-pointer with 8:59 left in the third pulled Atlanta within 64-62. Hawks: Atlanta had three players (Hunter, Huerter and Bogdanovic) with three fouls by halftime for only the second time this season. He said a Monday night conversation with Tucker resonated — Tucker basically told him to score more — and Butler clearly listened. ... Going back to the end of the regular season, Miami is 8-1 in its last nine games. “I think the difference in the game tonight was turnovers," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. The margin remained at least eight points for the next 11 minutes, before Atlanta began clawing back. He played the entire third quarter, but managed only two shots in that span — making both — and didn’t get to the foul line, while committing five turnovers in that period alone. A lot of those came in transition ... and I thought that was the difference." As such, the top-seeded Heat are going to Atlanta with a 2-0 lead. “You can't have 19 turnovers in a playoff game and expect to win games. As would be expected in a playoff series, pleasantries began being exchanged with more regularity.