Heat burn Hawks

Dwyane Wade added 20 points while Alonzo Mourning posted 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who have won two straight games. Gary Payton chipped in 13 points in the lopsided contest.

Miami has now beaten the Hawks eight straight times and last lost to Atlanta on November 28, 2003.

Zaza Pachulia had 17 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have dropped three straight. Al Harrington added 16 points and nine rebounds in the setback.

The Heat led 18-12 after the first quarter and extended the edge to 10 points on Payton’s jumper early in the second. Miami then widened the gap to 30-18 on Shandon Anderson’s basket later in the period and eventually carried a 43-34 edge into the locker room.

Mourning had 12 points and eight rebounds to pace the Heat, who shot 51 percent in the first half, while Atlanta made only 38 percent of its attempts in the opening 24 minutes.

Miami extended its cushion to 59-45 on Mourning’s layup with 5:40 left in the third quarter and led by as many as 17 in the period.

The Hawks, though, used a late surge to cut their deficit to 11 and trailed 70-59 after three quarters.

Atlanta pulled within seven points early in the fourth, but that is as close as the Heat would let the score get. Miami quickly widened its edge to 76-65, courtesy of two Payton free throws and coasted to the easy win.

The Heat led by as many as 24 points.

Game Notes

Miami shot 53 percent for the game (40-of-75) and hit 6-of-17 three-point attempts, while the Hawks connected on only 40 percent of their shots (30- of-75) and did not hit a shot from behind the arc (0-for-7)...The Heat have won four straight in Atlanta...Miami won for only the second time in six road meetings, while the Hawks fell to 1-5 at Philips Arena.