Young, Hawks to visit Butler, Heat
Thu, Dec 21, 2023
NBA News (AP)
Atlanta Hawks (12-15, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (16-12, seventh in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
The Heat have gone 13-10 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami is 7-7 against opponents with a winning record.
The Hawks are 8-13 in conference games. Atlanta has a 3-2 record in one-possession games.
The Heat's 12.9 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.6 fewer made shots on average than the 13.5 per game the Hawks give up. The Hawks average 14.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 more makes per game than the Heat give up.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Heat won the last meeting 117-109 on Nov. 12. Bam Adebayo scored 26 points to help lead the Heat to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Butler is averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Heat. Jaime Jaquez is averaging 15.7 points over the last 10 games for Miami.
Clint Capela is scoring 11.8 points per game and averaging 10.7 rebounds for the Hawks. Young is averaging 29.5 points and 2.9 rebounds over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 6-4, averaging 117.0 points, 39.9 rebounds, 27.2 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.6 points per game.
Hawks: 4-6, averaging 124.3 points, 43.1 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 125.2 points.
INJURIES: Heat: Kevin Love: day to day (illness), Dru Smith: out for season (knee), Jimmy Butler: day to day (calf).
Hawks: Mouhamed Gueye: out (back), Jalen Johnson: out (wrist), Kobe Bufkin: out (thumb), AJ Griffin: day to day (personal).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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