Giannis Antetokounmpo, Heat beat Hawks 129-117 for first win of season

The Miami Heat finally have a win, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has his first one in Miami colors. Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 18 rebounds and the Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-117 on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, ending an 0-4 start to the season.

Bam Adebayo also scored 24 points for Miami, which led for most of the night. The Heat are now 1-4. The Hawks fell to 2-3 and have lost three in a row.

How Miami took control

Miami came out shooting. The Heat made 15 of 23 shots in the first quarter, 65%, to take a 34-25 lead, according to The Associated Press account published by WSVN. The key stretch came late in the period: with Miami up 20-19, the Heat scored 14 of the next 17 points, with Adebayo, Portis, Dru Smith, Hardaway, Antetokounmpo and Larsson all scoring, according to ESPN's play-by-play. They extended it to 69-56 by halftime and reached their biggest lead, 18 points, when Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a 3-pointer to make it 95-77 late in the third quarter.

The Hawks' largest lead of the night was three points, and Miami was ahead for about 90% of the game, according to ESPN's game data. There were six lead changes.

The difference was inside. Miami scored 70 points in the paint to Atlanta's 52 and outrebounded the Hawks 52-40. The Heat shot 51 of 96 from the field, 53%, and finished with 36 assists and 21 fast-break points. Atlanta actually made more 3-pointers, 16 of 38 against Miami's 11 of 29, but could not keep pace near the basket.

Atlanta's fourth-quarter push

The Hawks made one real run. Miami took a 97-85 lead into the fourth quarter, and Atlanta chipped away behind Flemings and back-to-back 3-pointers from Luguentz Dort. When Okongwu hit a 3 with 6:21 left, the Heat's lead was down to 111-107.

Miami answered with seven straight points. Antetokounmpo made a free throw, Mitchell scored on a drive, Larsson converted a running layup and Adebayo made two free throws for a 118-107 lead. Atlanta got within six again at 118-112 with 3:33 to play, but Antetokounmpo scored on a dunk and a layup on consecutive trips, Larsson hit a 3-pointer and Antetokounmpo finished a three-point play to make it 128-114 with 1:13 left. Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN's play-by-play.

Antetokounmpo's first win in Miami

Antetokounmpo made 11 of 18 shots in 31 minutes and added three assists, a steal and a block. Thirteen of his 18 rebounds came on the defensive end. He missed both of his 3-point tries and went 2 of 5 at the free-throw line, but he was the focal point of a Miami attack that lived in the lane.

The Heat acquired the two-time MVP from the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason, and the AP noted that Miami lost its first four games after the trade. Bobby Portis, who also came over from Milwaukee in the deal according to published reports, had 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

The four losses that preceded Wednesday's win came by margins ranging from four points to 25. Miami's opening stretch is below.

Adebayo passes Haslem

Adebayo's night carried a milestone. Along with his 24 points, he grabbed nine rebounds and passed Udonis Haslem to become the Heat's career leader in rebounds, according to the AP. Haslem, who spent his entire 20-season career with Miami, had held the franchise mark.

Adebayo scored efficiently, going 8 of 16 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, and he had three steals. He finished plus-22 in 33 minutes, the best mark on either team.

Help from the supporting cast

Miami got scoring from across the roster. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Guard Pelle Larsson came off the bench for 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Hardaway added 14 points as a reserve, and starting point guard Davion Mitchell had 10 points and 10 assists. Miami's reserves combined for 50 points, with Nikola Jovic adding five in seven minutes, nearly matching an Atlanta bench that scored 51 behind Flemings.

Klay Thompson started and played 17 minutes, scoring three points. Forward Simone Fontecchio did not play and was listed as day-to-day with an illness, according to ESPN's injury report.

The Atlanta side

Rookie Kingston Flemings led Atlanta with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker also scored 23, making five 3-pointers. Jalen Johnson shot 4 of 12 and finished with 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. CJ McCollum scored 13 and Onyeka Okongwu had 11.

The Hawks were playing the first half of a home back-to-back. The AP reported that their Thursday game against Cleveland was pushed back an hour so that Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries could be played in the same arena earlier in the day.

The win gives Miami a 1-0 lead in the four-game season series. The teams meet again on Dec. 1 and Jan. 23 in Miami and on Feb. 8 in Atlanta, according to the league schedule posted by ESPN.

For Florida fans, Atlanta is a familiar early-season opponent. The Hawks opened their season on Oct. 21 by beating the Orlando Magic 132-125 at the Kia Center, behind 31 points from Alexander-Walker.

What's next

The Heat come home to host the Indiana Pacers on Friday, Oct. 30, at Kaseya Center, an NBA Cup group-play game. Miami then heads west for road games against the Los Angeles Lakers, the LA Clippers and the Golden State Warriors in the first week of November. The Hawks host Cleveland on Thursday.