The two teams face off against each other for the third time this season.
GAME STORY
The Miami Heat (29-16) hit the road once more to face the Atlanta Hawks (19-25) in their third matchup in 10 days.
Kyle Lowry (personal reasons) and Tyler Herro (COVID protocols) remain out for the Heat, who won both games against the Hawks this season. In the first game, Miami won 115-91 on Jan. 12 with Herro leading his team with 21 points on the final game of their recent road trip. That game was played without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who are both active tonight. Miami then beat Atlanta at home two nights later 124-118 with Herro once again leading the way with 24 points while Butler came back from injury to score 23 points.
Miami has won three road games in a row and are just percentage points behind the Chicago Bulls for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta have won their last two games, both at home, against the Milwaukee Bucks — which snapped a puzzling 10-game home losing streak — and most recently versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. All-Star guard Trae Young scored a combined 67 points in both games as he looks to recapture their winning ways in a so-far disappointing season.
Tonight’s key matchup to keep an eye on will be whether or not Gabe Vincent, who has played well since returning to the rotation and will most likely start in place of Lowry, can limit Young and his recent scoring surges. Anything Vincent can give Miami on offense will be welcomed with both Lowry and Herro, their leading scorer, out but his defense will be a big factor to pull out the road win.
ODDS: FiveThirtyEight gives the Heat a 46% chance to win the game.
HEAT VS HAWKS: FRIDAY, JANUARY 21 AT 7:30 PM.
INACTIVE/INJURIES
MIAMI:
- Victor Oladipo: out (knee; surgery rehab)
- Kyle Lowry: out (personal reasons)
- KZ Okpala: out (wrist)
- Markieff Morris: out (conditoning)
- Tyler Herro: out (H/S Protocols)
HAWKS:
- Bogdan Bogdanovic: out (knee)
- Clint Capela: out (ankle)
- Danilo Gallinari: questionable (achilles soreness)
- Gorgui Dieng: questionable (illness)
LINEUPS
BROADCAST INFO
TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBA League Pass
RADIO: The Ticket 790AM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson, Ruth Riley Hunter)
SPANISH RADIO: WAQI 710AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda, Joe Pujala)
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