The Hawks were looking to snap their losing streak tonight and came agonizingly close to doing so against the Miami Heat.

After a poor first half, especially on defense, Atlanta played much better in the second half and into overtime. The Heat took every punch Atlanta had though and Jimmy Butler’s team showed why they are such a tough out each night.

What also makes this loss hurt just a little bit more is the fact the Bulls lost tonight as well, opening the door for Atlanta to tie them for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta could not take advantage of a triple double from Dejounte Murray and a big night from De’Andre Hunter because they had a hard time defending Miami (especially Tyler Herro) and were an atrocious 22% from three. The Hawks will have to regroup quickly if they want to get a win tomorrow night vs Charlotte.

Let’s recap a tough loss at State Farm Arena.

Tonight, the Hawks started Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela.

Miami started Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo.

The first quarter for the Hawks saw some of their bad defensive habits show up big and they shot poorly from three. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Atlanta battled with Miami in the first quarter.

After the Heat raced out to a 13-7 lead with 7:02 left in the quarter, the Hawks sent in Garrison Matthews, Vit Krejci, and Bruno Fernando to help jumpstart the Hawks and Fernando in particular helped do that. He would end up leading the way for Atlanta with eight poitns in the quarter and some nice moves to finish at the rim

The most problematic thing for the Hawks in the first half was they shot 14% (1-7) from three. Atlanta has shown the ability to get hot from three, but this first half and first quarter in particular, was a struggle for them. Miami shot 55% from the field and 44% from three and led the Hawks 30-27 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was all about Miami.

The Heat continued to shoot well from the floor and the Hawks offense struggled to match. They got some intriguing play from Kobe Bufkin and they shot a little better from three, but they could not stop Tyler Herro and the Heat from scoring. The Heat had a 129.2 offensive rating in the second quarter and a 68% effective field goal percentage. The Hawks had been playing better defensively, but these last few games have seen them resort back to the Hawks defense that has been there for most of the season. Miami led by as many as 15 in the second and led 59-47 going into the half.

In the first half, the Hawks shot 46% from the field and 26% from three. No Hawks player was in double-digits, but Bogdanovic and Murray each had nine. Clint Capela had as ineffective of a half as you will see from him, scoring zero points and only getting two rebounds.

Miami shot 56% from the field and 40% from three in the first half. Herro led the way with 16 points while Butler (12) and Jovic (10) were also in double-figures.

The Hawks got off to a solid start in the third quarter.

Murray finally started to see some shots and scored seven points in the first six minutes of the quarter. Atlanta could still not muster a stop though and at the first timeout with 6:29 left in the quarter, Atlanta had only cut the Heat lead to 70-62.

They would put the pressure on Miami though and they were led by Hunter, who exploded in the third quarter. Hunter shot 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from three to score 13 points, leading all scorers in the quarter. Murray scored seven and Jalen Johnson scored.

Johnson has missed time this season with an ankle injury and he went down after a play and walked off to the sideline on his own. He went back to the locker room after that.

The Hawks would later announce that Johnson would not return during the game due to a right ankle sprain.

Atlanta trailed by as many as 14 in the quarter, but they were vying for the lead at the end of the quarter and had several opportunites to take it. They were unable to, but they had the game tied 80-80 going into the final quarter. It was the best quarter of the game up to that point for Atlanta and it put them right back in the game. They were also able to hold Miami to 39% shooting in the third quarter. Jovic had eight points in the quarter for Miami.

The fourth quarter was a roller coaster.

Miami and Atlanta went back and forth for the first six minutes of the quarter and with 5:25 left, Miami held a small lead 94-92. Down the stretch, the Heat were going to put the ball in the hands of Butler and he made sure to attack the basket and try to draw the foul. After an and one from Butler, Miami led 97-92 with 4:54 left in the game.

Back on the other end though, the Hawks were not going down without a fight. Murray knocked down a three to make it 97-95 and then after both teams traded misses, Capela dunked the ball to tie the game. Down on the other end, Butler went back to work looking for foul calls and got one. He split the free throws to give Miami a 98-97 lead with little time left on the clock.

After an Adebayo miss, Atlanta went down the court and got the lead thanks to Murray and it was 99-98. Haywoodd Highsmith missed two free throws for Miami and it looked like Atlanta might eke out a win at home.

The Heat would not go away and Butler went right back to the free throw line. He made both to go up one and after a Bogdanovic miss on the other end, Butler got the ball back in his hands and drew another foul to go to the line with under 30 seconds. He had a chance to get the Heat up three, but he split the free throws and Atlanta had a chance to tie or take the lead with 16.2 seconds left.

Murray raced down the court to take the last shot and it seemed as if Adebayo blocked it, but it was ruled a goaltend. There was still time left on the clock though after Murray tied it and Atlanta needed to come up with a defensive stop. Miami got the ball to Butler, who gave it to Herro for the final shot, but his attempt was not good and the game went to overtime.

After the two teams exchanged misses, Hunter scored the first basket of overtime to give Atlanta the lead 103-101 and then after a Miami miss, Murray made a basket on the other end to extend the lead to 105-101. It seemed like momentum was in Atlanta’s favor, but the Heat still had plenty of fight in them. Jovic hit a three to pull Miami within one and then both teams traded misses until Atlanta finally made a shot to go up three with less than a minute left. The Hawks needed to come up with some defensive stops, but Haywood Highsmith hit an open three to tie the game with 46.1 seconds left in the first overtime. The Heat had a chance to win the game, but Herro turned it over and it was Murray who tried to win the game for the Hawks. His three-point attempt was no good and there was more free basketball in Atlanta.

The second overtime was an ugly period for the Hawks. Miami outscored them 10-4 and got on top quickly. The Heat would end up coming away with a 117-11 win and sending Atlanta to its third straight loss.

This is one that Atlanta will hate to have let slip away. They had chances to win the game late in overtime and put the Heat away, but they could not. Atlanta will remain one game behind the Bulls for No. 9 even after their loss to the Knicks tonight.

It was two huge offensive nights for Murray and Hunter. Murray recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 asssists. Hutner scored 23 points on 10-23 shooting and also had 11 rebounds. No other Hawk had more than 13 points. This was overall a poor offensive night for the Hawks, as they shot 40% from the field and 22% (10-46) from three. Miami is an elite defensive team, but the Hawks offense performed poorly tonight.

Miami finished the game shooting 48% from the field and 40% from three. Herro led the way with 33 points, Butler had 25 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, and Jovic had a big game with 23 points and eight rebounds.

Atlanta has three games left in this regular season and will have to get over this loss quickly. They face the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow night at home and then finish up with Minnesota and Indiana.