With the Miami Heat besting the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, 126-111, it was a much-needed victory as the team had lost its last eight of nine games prior. Especially with the Heat getting the win without Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro due to injury, there was no doubt a game plan heading into Friday to turn around their luck.
Led by standout outings from Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson, and more, Miami looked more like how the team played in the beginning of the season, pushing the pace and executing on offense. There had to be an inflection point with the team in their recent slump, with Jaquez even saying how there was “a lot of talks” heading into Friday’s game against the Hawks and how the win was a “great moment.”
“I think this was a great moment for us,” Jaquez said after scoring 16 points off the bench, via video from HeatCulture on X, formerly Twitter. “We had a lot of talks, really discussed what we need to do, and tonight was a night where we just, you know, did it. It took action; it was, you know, down the lineup. Everybody came, everybody knew what they needed to do to help this team win, and we all really just bought back into what helps us win.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr on playing like their old-selves from November:
“Yea I think this was a great moment for us, we had a lot of talks really discussing what we needed to do and tonight was the night where we just did it…we all really just bought back into what helps us win.”
Time… pic.twitter.com/nr6fz2CBaU
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) December 27, 2025
Heat’s Norman Powell on the win feeling like the beginning of the season
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
As the Heat look to get back on track after a win like they just had, it also helped to have a scoring engine in Powell, who continues to prove that he was a great addition. Leading the team with 25 points, he would say how similar this outing felt to the beginning of the season, when Miami was firing on all cylinders.
“Yeah, definitely,” Powell said when asked if the performance felt like the earlier parts of the season. “I mean, I think we had everybody on the same page, doing things with intention and purpose, you know, and holding each other accountable throughout the course of the games and the many huddles when there was a dead ball or a foul, and just getting the things right.”
“It’s not gonna be a perfect game, but as long as the intent is right, and we’re making those second and third efforts, holding each other accountable and clearing up the mistakes, you know, we’re gonna put ourselves in position each and every night to win,” Powell continued.
Norman Powell on if tonight felt like the version of the Heat from November
“Yeah definitely. We had everybody on the same page doing things with intention and purpose. Holding each other accountable during the huddles and dead ball and just getting things right” pic.twitter.com/PpuYPF3LTm
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 27, 2025
At any rate, the Heat look to build off the win with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.