How this Heat guard had career night against Hawks - Hot Hot Hoops

Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson put it all on display against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. (Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)

Miami Heat guard returned for the Heat’s 15-point win over the Atlanta Hawks after a five-game absence with a high ankle sprain.

However, it was quite difficult to notice he missed any time.

Filling in for an injured Tyler Herro, Larsson stepped up yet again, making his 17th start of the season. He didn’t waste any time making a tangible impact, either. Let’s dive into the film and examine his impact over his 30-minute stint against the Hawks.

Larsson stepped up amicably in the Heat’s 126-111 victory, scoring a career-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds, five assists and one steal.

“We’re so happy to have him back in this lineup,” Jaime Jaquez Jr. said after the Heat’s win. “He’s the ultimate energy guy. He really gives everybody life and a spark that we desperately needed. The fact that he was able to comeback after so many games missed and play like that shows you how hard of a worker, how great of a player he is.”

After dishing out an assist to Norman Powell on the game’s first offensive possession, Larsson opened the floodgates with a pair of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers — their first two of the night — from nearly the same spot on the wing.

(Video courtesy of NBA.com)

While he was always a good shooter in college, he was inconsistent as a catch-and-shoot threat as a rookie, canning just 35.8 percent of his 1.5 3-point attempts. On the surface, that’s not terrible. But of the 277 players who attempted at least 80 spot-up 3-pointers in 2025-26, his 35.8 3-point percentage placed in the 35th percentile.

That’s improved through 25 games this year, raising his catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage to 37.3 percent, in the 51st percentile (min. 50 3PA).

When his shot is falling, it opens up the rest of his game. One of Larsson’s best skills is his ability to attack closeouts and his downhill decision-making that ensues.

(Video courtesy of NBA.com)

In this rep above, Larsson’s threat as a shooter allowed him to completely blow by former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher on a long — and lousy — closeout. Shoutout to Kel’el Ware for the Gortat screen to see off, Onyeka Okongwu, creating a wide-open layup attempt.

(Video courtesy of NBA.com)

This time, Larsson blew past Jalen Johnson, forcing Okongwu step up. The 24-year-old lobbed up a perfect pass to Ware — the Heat’s best vertical spacer

Throughout the night, Miami got back to its identity offensively, generating paint touches, exploiting advantages and pushing pace off opponent misses. It scored 22 fastbreak points for the first time since Dec. 1, when it scored 25 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Pelle Larsson helped push that envelope, too, scoring or assisting on six of them.

(Video courtesy of NBA.com)

He didn’t get hit in the face. But in the clip above, Larsson jumped the passing lanes after getting screened at the elbow. The sophomore guard has long been one of the Heat’s best on-ball defenders, but his instincts off the ball have flown under-the-radar. In this instance, it led to two easy points.

(Video courtesy of NBA.com)

The Miami Heat’s offense is oftentimes fueled by their defense. This is another example of that.

Kel’el Ware’s strong recovery on a Nickeil Alexander-Walker led to his only block of the night. Though it also created an easy transition opportunity for Larsson, who received the hit-ahead from Norman Powell, leading to a two-handed slam.

Larsson’s the perfect connective tissue, gluing the pieces together on the floor. His impact usually transcends his numbers, but on Friday, that wasn’t the case.

“You see the glue intangibles he provides,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This time it’s easier because you see the stats. But regardless of the stats, he just does so many of the intangibles on both sides of the court. He cuts, he moves for you offensively, and it helps all your better players.

“We were missing a ton of that. It just seems so easy. But (it’s) something we’ve been working on — everybody being that kind of role player when everyone else has the ball. [Pelle Larsson] does it naturally, and then defensively, he does so many tough things.”

How this Heat guard had career night against Hawks – Hot Hot Hoops

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