Hawks Fall Below .500 as Heat Win 129-117 Despite Kingston Flemings’ 23

Three games after leaving Charlotte with a 128-81 win and a 2-0 record, the Atlanta Hawks are under .500.

The Miami Heat beat Atlanta 129-117 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena for their first win of the season. The Hawks have lost three straight, starting with two losses to the Houston Rockets in three days.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 18 rebounds for Miami, which opened 0-4 after acquiring him from Milwaukee in the offseason. Bam Adebayo also scored 24 and passed Udonis Haslem as the Heat’s career leader in rebounds.

Kingston Flemings scored 23 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. In his first four NBA games, the eighth overall pick in June’s draft had scored 13 points combined.

He added 5 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal, and a block in 28 minutes. Hawks coach Quin Snyder kept him on the floor to close the game.

Teammates and coaches have been on Flemings to put the ball on the rim.

“Just staying aggressive,” Flemings said. “We got a lot of rebounds, and we were pushing in transition. That’s when we’re best. So just trying to get rebounds, push, and just playing the flow of the offense.”

Nickeil Alexander-Walker also finished with 23, going 8-of-18 from the field and 5-of-9 from deep. His plus-6 was the only positive plus-minus on Atlanta’s side of the box score.

Jalen Johnson had 12 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds on 4-of-12 shooting. CJ McCollum scored 13 on 6-of-9 in 20 minutes.

Atlanta’s largest lead was 3, at 10-7 with 8:16 left in the first quarter. Miami made 15 of its 23 shots in that quarter and led 34-25 after one. By halftime it was 69-56. A Tim Hardaway Jr. 3-pointer late in the third quarter made it 95-77, Miami’s largest lead of the night.

Atlanta won the third quarter 29-28, and the teams split the fourth 32-32.

Flemings scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-6 shooting, including a breakaway dunk off his own steal of Dru Smith with 9:53 left. Luguentz Dort made both of his 3-pointers in the period, and an Onyeka Okongwu 3-pointer with 6:21 left cut Miami’s lead to 111-107. The Hawks did not get closer.

The Heat outrebounded Atlanta 52-40, scored 70 points in the paint, and shot 53% from the field. Antetokounmpo had 5 of Miami’s 12 offensive rebounds.

Atlanta shot 48% overall and went 16-of-38 from 3-point range. Miami was 11-of-29 from deep.

Nothing changes in Snyder’s mind after three straight losses. It is going to take this group time, and it needs to keep responding.

“They beat us,” Snyder said. “There’s things that they were aggressive on the glass. They did a lot of things, and there were times when we responded, but we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to move the ball better as much as anything, particularly when the team’s aggressive on us on the ball.”

“Sometimes it’s not about — we have the willing passers, but we have to pass. Sometimes it’s about when you pass,” Snyder continued. “And our ability to get off the ball quicker and get more movement I think will help us offensively. When we’re not connected on the offensive end, it really impacts our defense.”

Alexander-Walker said Atlanta answered when Orlando made a run in the season opener.

“I think it’s just a little too late energy-wise,” Alexander-Walker said. “We’re showing that we can compete. I think throughout the game, we have to do a better job of consistently competing. There’s times where our compete level drops, and that’s what it was tonight.”

Atlanta hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The game was pushed back an hour so the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries could play Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena that afternoon, with a 12:30 p.m. ET tip.

Cleveland is 3-1 and is also on the second night of a back-to-back. The Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards 121-111 at home Wednesday.

The Hawks visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.