Paul Millsap scored 22 points, Dennis Schroder added 16 with 10 assists and the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks downed the Miami Heat 93-91 on Saturday night.
The Hawks, who are already on the brink of clinching a postseason berth, nearly squandered an 18-point lead but pulled away for their fourth straight victory. Though they committed 20 turnovers, they forced 23 and limited Miami to 39.5 percent shooting.
Kent Bazemore and John Jenkins tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively, for an Atlanta squad playing without regulars Al Horford (personal), Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll and Pero Antic -- the last three all getting the night off on the second of a back-to-back.
Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 22 points, while Hassan Whiteside pulled down 24 rebounds and scored 14 points in the club's second straight loss.
Miami never led but pulled within three behind a 9-1 run to start the fourth quarter. Luol Deng, who was held scoreless over the first three quarters, drained a corner 3-pointer during the surge, and two free throws from Goran Dragic cut the Heat's deficit to 65-62.
The outcome was still in doubt until Millsap connected from behind the arc to give Atlanta an 84-74 cushion, and the visitors held on over the final four minutes.
Atlanta put the hosts in an early hole by scoring 10 of the game's first 12 points. Dragic stopped the early flourish with a steal and a behind-the-back pass to Wade for a transition layup, but those easy buckets were few and far between for the Heat.
Miami shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the first half and went scoreless over the first three-plus minutes of the third quarter. The Hawks' 8-0 run to start the frame gave them their biggest lead at 51-33.
Despite shooting a pitiful 2-of-13 over the final eight minutes of the third, Atlanta still led 64-53 entering the final quarter.
Game Notes
The Hawks have won five straight meetings ... Whiteside has recorded at least 20 rebounds three times in his past 12 games ... Atlanta's Kyle Korver shot 2- of-7 from the perimeter, dropping his 3-pointer percentage on the season to an even 50 percent ... The Heat made all but one of their 21 free throw attempts ... Deng and Dragic combined for 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
[SportsNetwork.com]
