Coup’s Takeaways: Robinson Drops 21 In The Fourth As He And Herro Close Out Hawks

1. Another quick open for Miami without Jimmy Butler as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first couple minutes, this one their best start of the season.

The Atlanta Hawks, or more specifically Bogdan Bogdanovic, had every intent on hanging around. While Miami was ready and able to capitalize on every hole in Atlanta’s defense – at one point Trae Young, Patty Mills and Bogdanovic were all on the floor together, which did not turn out to be defensively tenable – without ever really getting jammed up, the Hawks just kept making shots, Bogdanovic hitting one three after another until he was 6-of-8 from deep. Miami left Atlanta’s sharpshooter open once but otherwise it was all contested, hand-in-the-face work, as Bogdanovic finished the first half with 20 points on 11 shots. And with Dejounte Murray getting into the paint just enough to stabilize the visitor’s attack it was only 62-60 Miami – running a 129.2 Offensive Rating – at the break despite life looking much easier on the HEAT’s end thanks to 31 combined points on 18 shots from Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Less than a minute into the third, Kyle Lowry appeared to injure his leg on a drive (he eventually returned), heading back into the locker room as Atlanta took their first lead of the game, eventually stretching out to a 73-62 advantage on the strength of three straight threes and a bout of HEAT turnovers – a 13-0 run in all only halted by Jaquez Jr. earning himself a trip to the line. Miami eventually worked it back to a tie as Atlanta’s offense stalled out after that, but those minutes marked the first time the home team didn’t feel fully in control. While Miami eventually righted the ship and jumped out in front behind strong bench play, the time for true separation was no longer. Two-point game going into the fourth.

A pair of Duncan Robinson threes always helps as the HEAT went up seven early in the quarter, then it was time for Robinson to get downhill for a couple floaters to hold off Atlanta. One Herro three later, HEAT up eight with seven to go, hot at the right time as Bogdanovic and Young started forcing tougher attempts. Still, just a four-point game with 3:33 to go, turnovers hurting the HEAT as much as their shooting was helping them. Clutch game, but one finished convincingly by the HEAT for a 122-113 victory with a Christmas Day matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers looming.

2. Fourth quarters may not have marked many of Miami’s best stretches this season, but Robinson (27 points on 11 shots) and Herro (30 points on 21 shots) did everything they could to ensure that this was a good one (34-27 over the Hawks).

It started with a personal 11-0 run from Robinson, threes mixed with the drive game as he’s done all season long. Then it was Herro’s turn, dropping in three from deep including one last-second bailout shot to put Miami up nine. Atlanta just couldn’t navigate the endless series of screens, either with Herro running around them with the ball in his hands or Robinson doing the same without. Out of 34 fourth-quarter points, the combination of Herro and Robinson had 30, 21 of them coming from Robinson (the sixth 20-point fourth quarter in HEAT history, joining Dwyane Wade, Lowry and Butler) as the Hawks put him on the line in the final minutes during a desperation comeback play.

What was perhaps most impressive during the period, however, wasn’t just the lights out offense, it was that the pairing worked so well defensively. Outside of Young and Murray, Atlanta wasn’t using many players capable of putting the ball on the floor, which meant both Herro and Robinson could push up on shooters knowing that if the attacker got a step on them they could still recover to contest in the mid-range or swap out with whoever slid in to help with Young not a consistent threat to burst in for a finish at the cup. Sure, it helps that Atlanta shot 5-of-18 from three in the period and some of that is variance, but anyone watching live could tell how many of those looks were far better contested, often by Herro or Robinson, than they were in the first half. Defense has generally prevented Herro and Robinson from appearing together for longer periods and tonight the defense kept them attached at the hip, a two-headed dragon that ended a night that for a brief stretch looked promising.

3. It really is remarkable how well Jaime Jaquez Jr. can sometimes approximate exactly what Jimmy Butler does for Miami’s offense when Butler is not available.

It’s not that Jaquez Jr. (19 points on 14 shots) is Butler. That would be going about seven steps too far. It’s that when a team like Atlanta has players like Young or Mills on the floor, Jaquez Jr. is more than capable at recognizing the mismatches and going right for them. But as we’ve seen so often this season, his aggressive approach is not limited only to advantageous matchups as Jaquez Jr. gladly took Clint Capela – Atlanta spent a few stretches with two centers in Capela and Onyeka Okongwu on the floor – on a switch and pushed him right in the restricted area for an and-one. That is not normal stuff for a rookie and yet only a couple months into his career its almost becoming normalized with how often it happens. And when Miami needed a run-stopping bucket early in the third, it was Jaquez Jr. putting his head down and again going right into the chest of Capela for a foul. It’s not just what you do and how you do it, it’s when you do it, especially when your team needs it.