Why CJ McCollum believes Atlanta didn’t deserve to beat the Heat

ATLANTA – Atlanta The Hawks began the second half of the season with a win on the road, an environment they’ve felt quite comfortable in this year. On Friday, the Hawks were 17-15 on the road.

That’s it home games where they tend to miss (10-16 record), and that was the case in their 128-97 loss to the Miami Heat. The Hawks came out flat to start the game, while the Heat clicked on both sides of the ball.

It was the second quarter where the Hawks came alive, and with running which began with Corey Kispert and CJ McCollumthey saw a 15-point deficit disappear.

“We played with a better tempo,” McCollum said. “We came out and ran. I think in the first quarter we kind of got our sea legs back and we didn’t come out and run. We didn’t stop.

“The second quarter, we came out and ran. Corey got a dunk and three turnovers. He had pressure at the rim, got a couple of threes from his eyes. I think that was the difference.”

The Hawks went into halftime with a score of 57-51 and little momentum. Unfortunately, they reverted to their old ways, and the Heat never looked back in the second half, taking a 34-point lead into the fourth quarter.

“They went into the zone to start the fourth quarter, and I think that changed the game,” McCollum said. “They took advantage of some turnovers and missed shots. I don’t think we did enough to win. (Tyler) Hero came out. He got too much freedom, too much space in his pick-and-roll, and too much space in his pull-ups. I think a lot of guys hurt us tonight, and I don’t think we deserved to win this game.”

The Heat had 72 points to the Hawks’ 38. They were outscored 58-46. Plus, they had 20 points off turnovers. The only thing going well for the Hawks in this game was that they shot 42% from the three-point line, but it still wasn’t enough to win.

“I think when we’re consistent with the game plan and when we come out and execute the game plan, that’s when we’re at our best. I don’t think we did a good job of executing the game plan tonight,” Jaylen Johnson said.

The Hawks played back-to-back, but they didn’t use that as an excuse for the loss.

“I would have liked to have gone to sleep before 3 a.m. last night, but they beat us,” McCollum said. “It is what it is. They came out, they played better than us. They got off to a good start. They got points in transition, got threes, got pressure at the rim. They did what they wanted to do tonight. So, streak or not, they did enough to win and we didn’t do enough.”

The Hawks have four straight games to make amends for their problems at home this season, and they’re coming up against opponents who haven’t played their best this year.

“Opportunities are in front of us. We just have to go out there and win. We have one more chance Sunday to regroup and watch film tomorrow and get better,” Johnson said.