With a comfortable 15-point home win over the Hawks on Wednesday, the Heat, now 3-1 are off to their best four-game start since the 2014-15 season.
Here are the key takeaways from the first of a home-and-home back-to-back with the Hawks:
Jimmy Butler makes Heat debut
After missing the first week of the regular season for the birth of his daughter, Jimmy Butler returned to the Heat lineup for the first of a home-and-home in Miami against the Atlanta Hawks.
In his debut, he played 31 minutes and seamlessly fit into the lineup, scoring 12 of the Heat's first 20 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.
"It felt great... to win at home in front of these fans is special."@JimmyButler puts up 21 PTS, 5 REB, 3 STL in his @MiamiHEAT debut! #HEATTwitter pic.twitter.com/2luO3troHw
— NBA (@NBA) October 30, 2019
Rookie Tyler Herro goes off
While the four-time All-Star's debut stole the headlines, the win over the Hawks had a similar theme to the team's win over the Atlanta franchise in the preseason - rookie Tyler Herro catching fire off the bench.
In the preseason win, he had 23 points in 25 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting. In the more meaningful regular-season fixture, he was even more efficient, finishing with 29 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-9 shooting, including 19 in the second quarter alone.
His 29 points were the most by a Heat rookie since Dwayne Wade in 2004.
Optimism on Trae Young's ankle sprain
Midway through the second quarter, Trae Young was helped off the floor to the locker room after he sprained his right ankle, missing the remainder of the game.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the injury does not appear to be serious, with Young set to undergo an MRI in the coming days.
X-Rays were negative on Atlanta guard Trae Young’s right ankle, and there’s optimism that this isn’t a serious injury, league sources tell ESPN. Young will undergo an MRI soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 30, 2019
With playmaker Evan Turner also injured, the Hawks are thin at point guard and will be hoping for a speedy recovery for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
For more and the latest on Young's injury, click here.
Balanced Heat outplay Hawks despite 28 turnovers
The Heat had five players finish in double figures with useful contributions coming from Goran Dragic (21 points on 7-of-12 off the bench) and Bam Adebayo (17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, two steals).
On the other hand, the Hawks, with Young off the floor, finished with only two players in double figures led by John Collins' 30.
In a high turnover game where both teams combined for 48, the Heat came out on top, relentlessly attacking the basket and making things happen in the paint.
They knocked down 33-of-45 from the free-throw line, compared to 16-of-24 for the Hawks.
