With Kyle Lowry being out, the Miami Heat approached Game 4 with a next man up mentality. The Atlanta Hawks brought back their big man, Clint Capela. The Hawks threw the first punch early and had an eight-point lead over Miami. But then, Miami went on a 15-0 run to lead by double-digits in the first half, and they never looked back after that. Miami was dominant on both ends of the floor in the second half. With the win, they take a 3-1 series lead over Atlanta. Here are four takeaways from Sunday’s victory over Atlanta.
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Butler in Control
Without Lowry, the Heat needed even more from Jimmy Butler and that’s what they got. Butler kept the Heat afloat during their early shooting struggles. He started off slow with his own shooting struggles but picked it up in the second quarter. Butler kept hunting mismatches and took over in the second period. He dictated the pace of the game, and it was a great sight to see. Butler had 19 points in the first half. He continued his dominance the rest of the way on both ends. Butler played the passing lanes and held his own against the Atlanta bigs. Simply put, it was Butler doing Butler things. Butler ended the night with 36 points and 10 rebounds.
Vincent Steps Forward
With Lowry out, the Heat inserted Gabe Vincent into the starting lineup. This is nothing new for Vincent, who has started whenever Lowry was sidelined. He’s not the floor general that Lowry is but can play well as a spot-up shooter and can score in the midrange area. Vincent also played stout defense on Trae Young throughout the whole game. He made him work for everything on the offensive end. The ball pressure Vincent provides has been key for the Heat throughout the whole season. Overall, it was a good night for Vincent. Depending on Lowry’s injury status, he may be starting again in Game 5. Vincent ended the night with 11 points and four assists.
No Turnovers in the First Half
To win on the road you need to do two things: rebound and limit turnovers. Miami did a good job of both. Most importantly, they did well with the turnovers. Taking care of the basketball is always important and Miami did that without their starting point guard. In the first half, they had zero turnovers. Miami doing this, in general, is incredible considering they never had a half with zero turnovers in a playoff game. There was no risky pitch ahead passes or flashy passes being made. This was an impressive feat for the Heat. They didn’t record their first turnover until the third period off a Bam Adebayo charge foul call. Miami finished the game with seven turnovers.
Oladipo Appearance
We knew coming in that Vincent would start, with Caleb Martin receiving more minutes off the bench. Victor Oladipo would get in only if Miami needed more shot creation and ball pressure. This is exactly how it played out on Sunday. With the offense being stagnant, Oladipo was inserted in the second quarter in place of Duncan Robinson. Offensively, Oladipo was still rusty after not playing in over two weeks. However, his impact on the defensive end was immediately felt. He guarded and switched well defensively on the man-to-man defense. His impact changed the momentum of the game and allowed Miami to go on that 15-0 run in the second period. Oladipo finished the night with six points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Next Up: Game 4 on Tuesday. Tip-off is at 7 pm eastern time.
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