Heat Down Hawks, Snap Losing Streak

January 5, 2010

Amidst a three-game losing streak the Miami Heat found a way to stunt the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at the American Airlines Arena. Without the help of starting Center Jermaine O'Neal, the Heat had to expand their rotation and expect more minutes from key players. Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley led the way with 28 and 22 respectively. Other notable contributors included Quentin Richardson and Jamaal Magloire, which logged 10 rebounds each en route to the 92-75 victory.

Hot Stats of the Night

• The Heat outrebounded the Hawks 52 to 33, a 22-rebound margin.

• Miami had five players that tallied eight rebounds or more - a first in franchise history.

• Joel Anthony has recorded 14 blocks in the last seven showings; he leads the Heat with 44 blocks thise season.

• Carlos Arroyo is 14 assists away from reaching the 1,500 mark for his career.

• Michael Beasley has scored in double figures in 20 of the last 22 games.
  

• Jamaal Magloire played in his 600th NBA game against the Hawks on Monday night.

• Quentin Richardson is seven three-pointers shy of the 1,000 mark for his career.
  

Season At-a-Glance

Miami (5th seed) finds themselves 3.5 games behind Atlanta (4th seed) in the Eastern Conference and 8 games behind the 1st seed Boston Celtics, which they play against on Wednesday night. If Miami hopes to stay in the race foer a top seed they will have to earn it on the road as 19 of the next 25 games are away.

The continued development of Michael Beasley has proven to be beneficial to the Heat, establishing himself as a consistent number two scorer. Beasley is averaging 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds a night this season, and is averaging 18 points in the last 10 games.

Upcoming Six-Game Road Trip

• 1/8 - @ Phoenix Suns - 9:00 PM EST
• 1/10 - @ L.A. Clippers - 3:30 PM EST
• 1/11 - @ Utah Jazz - 9:00 PM EST
• 1/13 - @ Golden State - 10:30 PM EST
• 1/15 - @ Houston Rockets - 8:30 PM EST
• 1/16 - @ Oklahoma City Thunder - 8:00 PM EST