The Miami Heat hosted the Atlanta Hawks in the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday night as part of the NBA’s 15-game slate on the final day of the regular season and picked up a convincing 143-117 win. The Hawks had ruled out multiple key players, such as Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, and Onyeka Okongwu, among others. As a result, this game became easy for the Heat, who played their core rotation to pick up this win.
The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo’s 25 points (11-18 FG), 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the team in scoring with 26 points (12-17 FG) off the bench, with Norman Powell contributing 25 points (8-17 FG) off the bench. The Hawks were led by midseason addition Corey Kispert’s 21 points (7-12 FG) and Buddy Hield’s 31 points (12-18 FG) off the bench.
Let’s analyze the biggest takeaways from this clash between two teams playing with very different reasons in the final regular-season game of the 2025-26 NBA season.
1. The Hawks Didn’t Care About This Result
The reason this game was an uncompetitive blowout for the Miami Heat is simply that the Atlanta Hawks didn’t look to care about the outcome of this game. They had secured their spot as a top-six team in the Eastern Conference, so benching their entire roster didn’t make a difference to their season. The Heat had also been locked into the No. 10 seed, but they still played their core players on the chance that teams around them in the standings lose and drop in seed. However, the four Play-in teams under Atlanta all won their games, meaning nothing changed about the standings at all.
The Hawks will deploy their core rotation when they’re playing Playoff basketball, but it could’ve been risky to play the likes of Johnson, Daniels, NAW, McCollum, and other core players today. The Heat play a physical style of defense, and it makes sense that Hawks coach Quin Snyder wasn’t going to take any chances with his players’ health. He’s had most of his rotation come in and out of the lineup this season, so this final regular-season loss meant less to the franchise than maximizing their chances in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Atlanta played an eight-man rotation of players that make up the back-half of their rotation and still had a surprisingly strong offensive night, so at least they have some positives to take home with them.
2. The Heat Are Peaking At The Right Time
The Heat have been a middling team all season, deserving their spot as the No. 10 seed in the East this season. They haven’t looked remarkable at any point this season and have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games. However, their last two performances have been really strong and have fans thinking that the team might be able to pull off another one of their miracle Playoff runs. The Heat made the NBA Finals from the Play-In Tournament in 2023, so the franchise definitely believes in its ability to pull something like this off.
The Heat have cemented themselves as one of the best offenses in the NBA this season, ending the season as the second-highest scoring team of the season. Their offensive brilliance was on display against the Hawks, as they effortlessly put up 143 points against them. This was without star guard Tyler Herro even cracking 10 points, with the combo guard focused on feeding players like Jaquez, Adebayo, and Powell.
Their unselfish style of play and 141.5 scoring average over the last two games highlight how dangerous they can be. They shot 58-103 (56.3 FG%) from the field and 15-37 from three (40.5 3P%), while grabbing 45 rebounds and 34 assists in a great performance. This is the perfect time for them to find this offensive groove, with two must-win Play-In games ahead of them now.
3. Play-In Tournament Can Be A Brutal Battle
The regular season clashes we saw over the last month featured six teams desperately trying to gain seeds No. 5 and No. 6, while the others couldn’t climb their way out of the Play-In Tournament. The Heat played their available core rotational players in Game 82 because they were willing to cling to any hope that teams ahead of them might lose a game, which would allow them to at least secure home-court advantage for the first Play-in game. Instead, they have to win two road Play-In games, given their 17-24 road record on the season.
The Heat are locked into a matchup with the Charlotte Hornets on the road in the first Play-In Game. If they win, they face the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers vs. Orlando Magic on the road, with the winner then sealing the No. 8 seed for a matchup against the Detroit Pistons. The Heat have played two play-in games and gone to the Finals before, but it’s going to be grueling for the franchise.
The Heat have played at a very high level these last two games and will hope that form continues, as the Play-in can be brutal for most teams. Not only do they need to play two extra games compared to the top-six seeds, but they also need to be perfect from here on out to have a shot at competing in the Playoffs.
4. Hawks’ Rotational Players Could Be Useful During Playoffs
This game allowed the Hawks to run out their end-of-rotation players with a majority of the core players rested. Even though this was an uncompetitive blowout, multiple players proved they can be useful enough contributors in specific Playoff matchups. The two names who are atop that list are shooter Corey Kispert (5-9 3P) and Buddy Hield (7-11 3P), who led the Hawks in scoring tonight.
Kispert and Hield combined to go 12-20 from three in this game. If the Hawks’ defense hadn’t been blown away from the opening tip, these offensive contributions could’ve kept them in the game for much longer. Hield played just 21 minutes as well, so the veteran shooter has made a strong case that he could get spot minutes in the Playoffs as a floor-spacer. Kispert provides more than just shooting and has remained a part of the rotation since joining the franchise in February.
Rookie Asa Newell also showed why he could be a useful option in the rotation as a multi-positional and athletic forward, but he might struggle with the slower tempo of the Playoffs, given his lack of experience. We can rest assured that Zaccharie Risacher likely won’t feature in the Hawks’ Playoff rotation after looking like a role player tonight, despite the majority of the roster being ruled out.
