ATLANTA — For almost the entire season, the Miami Heat have played like a team in need of a jolt.

Friday night, in a 128-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena, Tyler Herro provided that jolt.

Back after a month away due to a rib injury, Herro sparked the Heat with 24 points off the bench as they returned from their eight-day All-Star break.

With the offense uneven early, including struggles for Norman Powell, Herro energized on a night he closed 9 of 14 from the field in 23 minutes, showing no discomfort from the rib injury that had him out since Jan. 15, with Friday night only his 12th appearance of the season.

“It was definitely encouraging,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s been a unique season for him. But we know how competitive he is and we know how much he wants to be out there.

“We have never forgotten about the talent that he brings. He changes our dynamic, quite a bit.”

With Herro handling the wing scoring, centers Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware took care of business inside, with Adebayo closing with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Ware with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“It felt great,” Herro said of his return. “Ultimately, just being out there was what felt amazing. Being out there with my teammates, playing in the game, being able to go through my routine again. It felt good.”

Those efforts helped offset an uneven 15-point performance from Powell in his first game back after his first All-Star appearance, having been listed on the injury report earlier in the day with back pain.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 29-16 after the first period and after all of their early 15-point lead was lost, then were up 57-51 at halftime.

The Heat then pushed their lead back to 17 late in the third period, before taking an 87-75 lead into the fourth.

Energetic play by Ware, then pushed the Heat’s lead into the 20s early in the fourth, allowing for added rest for some of the rotation, with the Heat playing on the first night of a back-to-back set.

“When we have everybody available, we look a lot different,” Adebayo said. “This is one game, but this is something that we felt about our team for a while. We just have, our guys available right now.”

2. More change: Even with Herro back, the Heat opened with a lineup of Adebayo, Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Davion Mitchell.

That lineup is now 4-3, with Friday the ninth consecutive time the Heat opened with a different lineup than the previous game.

Mitchell had been questionable just prior to the game with a head illness.

Larsson said all the lineup combinations proved  enjoyable in this one.

“It’s really fun, like you get to mix it up multiple times in the game,” he said.

The Heat’s revised rotation had Dru Smith, Nikola Jovic and Simone Fontecchio out of the mix, with Myron Gardner instead getting some early action.

“We feel like we have whatever we need, to make a run,” Spoelstra said. “Our depth is something that is such a strength of ours.”

3. Herro time: Herro entered for the first time since Jan. 15 when he subbed in with 5:26 to play in the opening period along with Kasparas Jakucionis, part of Spoelstra’s second substitution, after Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Ware previously entered together.

Herro then scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting as he played out the balance of the first quarter, up to 15 points at halftime and 18 going into the fourth.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get him out there,” Spoelstra said of playing Herro off the bench. “We are going to manage the minutes, and I’m not overthinking it. I’m not putting anything in cement. I don’t have a timeline for anything.”

Herro just before the game opted not to play with the kevlar-type insert in his chest protector, as he returned from his rib issue, saying he felt it too constricting.

“I like my job,” Herro said of the joy he showed in his return. “It’s what I want to do. It’s what I aspire to do. I work hard for a reason, and I believe in my work at the end of the day. I just have to stay healthy and be out on the floor and be available.”

4. Captain connector: With Herro back to pick up the scoring slack, Adebayo played more of an all-around game, including playing as facilitator.

Save for his errant 3-point shooting, Adebayo often helped settle the Heat, closing 7 of 10 on his two-point attempts.

Adebayo then positioned Ware to play some late minutes in the middle, with Ware converting a 3-pointer with 9:46 to play that put the Heat up 96-75.

“I have been encouraged by the strides that Kel’el’s been making for a while now,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not always going to translate to the stats or the minutes maybe. But I’m talking about the process, behind the scenes. He’s been stacking a lot of minutes, a lot of good days, and he was very good tonight.”

5. More indifference: After somehow losing their final home game before the All-Star break to a team that was trying to lose, the Heat will find themselves in a similar situation in their first home game after the break on Saturday night.

Prior to the break, the Heat managed to lose to a Utah Jazz team tanking to a degree that it was fined $500,000 by the NBA.

On Saturday night at Kaseya Center, the Heat face a Memphis Grizzlies team that also basically has quit on the season, dealing Jaren Jackson Jr. ahead of the trade deadline and then finding numerous reasons to sit numerous contributors, including Ja Morant.

The Jazz on Friday night against Utah started a lineup of GG Jackson, Taylor Hendricks, Lawson Lovering, Jaylen Wells and Jahmai Mashack.