Who’s playing
Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks
Current records: Miami 15-13, Atlanta 16-15
How to watch
- When: Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 3 p.m. ET
- Or: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, Georgia
- TV: TVNB
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $48.00
What you need to know
The Miami Heat will end 2024 with a road trip to face the Atlanta Hawks at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday at State Farm Arena. The Heat pulled off a surprise victory in their last outing and will hope to do so once again against the 2.5-point favorite Hawks.
The Heat are headed into this one after bettors pegged last week’s low/under at 208.5, but even that proved too high. They bypassed the Magic 89-88 on Thursday thanks to a game-winning shot from Tyler Herro with less than a second remaining in the fourth quarter. The victory was all the more spectacular because Miami trailed by 17 with 5:36 left in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing it behind a season-high score is even better (just ask the Hawks). They won Thursday against the Bulls by a score of 141-133. The victory was all the more dramatic because Atlanta trailed 21 with 1:12 left in the third quarter.
The Hawks earned their victory thanks to several key players, but it was Jalen Johnson leading the way who had a double-double with 30 points and 15 rebounds. Additionally, Johnson also racked up five offensive rebounds, his most since October. Trae Young was another key player, posting a double-double with 27 points and 13 assists.
The Hawks worked as a unit and finished the game with 32 assists (they are ranked third in assists per game overall). This strong performance was nothing new for the team: they have now accumulated at least 27 assists in four consecutive matches.
Miami’s win ended a four-game road drought and puts them at 15-13. As for Atlanta, they now have a winning record of 16-15.
Not only did both teams win their last games in Saturday’s match, but they also took care of their punters and covered the spread. Looking ahead, the Hawks should win a close contest, except for the buzzers. Neither team has fared well against the spread this season; they are 13-18, while Miami is 11-17.
The Heat didn’t have much breathing room in their matchup against the Hawks in their previous matchup in April, but they still came away with a 117-111 victory. Do the Heat have another win up their sleeve, or will the Hawks turn things around? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Odds
Atlanta is a slight favorite with 2.5 points against Miami, according to the latest NBA Odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of ​​the line for this one, as the game opened with the Hawks as 3-point favorites.
The over/under is 225.5 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Miami has won 7 of its last 10 games against Atlanta.
- April 9, 2024 – Miami 117 vs. Atlanta 111
- January 19, 2024 – Atlanta 109 vs. Miami 108
- December 22, 2023 – Miami 122 vs. Atlanta 113
- November 11, 2023 – Miami 117 vs. Atlanta 109
- April 11, 2023 – Atlanta 116 vs. Miami 105
- March 6, 2023 – Miami 130 vs. Atlanta 128
- March 4, 2023 – Miami 117 vs. Atlanta 109
- January 16, 2023 – Atlanta 121 vs. Miami 113
- November 27, 2022 – Miami 106 vs. Atlanta 98
- April 26, 2022 – Miami 97 vs. Atlanta 94
