ATLANTA, Georgia — Tyler Herro scored 24 points in his return from a rib injury, and the Miami Heat never trailed in a 128-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
Bam Adebayo had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Miami, and Norman Powell added 15 points in his first game since participating in his first All-Star game. Kel’el Ware had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Jalen Johnson had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists for Atlanta for his 11th triple-double of the season. It is the most in franchise history for a single season and leads the Eastern Conference.
Oneka Okongwu led Atlanta with 22 points. CJ McCollum had 20 points off the bench. He hit four three-pointers.
Herro played his 12th game of the season. He missed the last 15 because of a rib injury and returned with a flak jacket.
He came off the bench and did not seem restricted at all, scoring 16 points in the first half. Herro also has missed time with ankle and toe injuries.
The Heat have won six of seven on the road.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Charlotte Hornets, 118-113, for their seventh straight victory and 12th win in 13 games.
Jared Allen had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and James Harden added 18 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers.
Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel finished with 33 points on seven three-pointers, giving him 193 made 3s for the season — the second most in NBA history by a rookie. Keegan Murray holds the record with 206 set in the 2022-2023 season.
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each had 18 points, and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.
Miller’s and-one layup off a no-look feed from Ball cut Cleveland’s lead to four with a minute remaining, but Mitchell made a short jumper and four free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.