NBA55 min ago1 minute read

Giannis Powers Miami Past Hawks as Adebayo Makes Heat History

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo led the Miami Heat to their first victory of the season with a 129-117 win over Atlanta.

The EagleEyeOdds deskWritten from the match data, checked against our model before it goes out

Heat Break Through in Atlanta

Miami finally earned their first win of the season on Wednesday night, beating the Atlanta Hawks 129-117. The victory snapped a four game losing streak to start the year after acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee during the offseason.

Miami jumped ahead early, making 15 of 23 shots in the opening quarter to lead 34-25. They stretched the advantage to 69-56 at halftime and led by as many as 18 points after a Tim Hardaway Jr. 3 pointer late in the third quarter. The Heat finished the night shooting 53% from the field while piling up 70 points inside the paint.

Giannis and Adebayo Lead the Way

Antetokounmpo dominated the glass, finishing with 24 points and 18 rebounds. That gave him 138 total points through five games, the highest scoring start for any player in franchise history. It was also his 118th career game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds, which ranks as the third most in the league since his debut in 2013.

Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo pulled down nine rebounds, moving his career total to 5,794 and passing longtime Heat captain Udonis Haslem for the top mark in team history. Haslem had held the franchise record of 5,791 rebounds since November 2012 across his 20 seasons in Miami.

Andrew Wiggins added 18 points for Miami, while Pelle Larsson chipped in with 17 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Hardaway contributed 14 points off the bench. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised the roster for sticking together after dropping their first four games.

What it means for the next game

Here are the projections for the next two games on Miami's schedule:

Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat (NBA, Sat, 31 Oct): Miami Heat win 54%, Indiana Pacers win 46%; projected score Miami Heat 124, Indiana Pacers 119. Our safest pick: Heat +4.5.

Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers (NBA, Tue, 03 Nov): Los Angeles Lakers win 49%, Miami Heat win 51%; projected score Los Angeles Lakers 118, Miami Heat 117. Our safest pick: Lakers +7.5.