Miami Heat shooting Dwyane Wade returned from a nine-game absence after straining his left hamstring, and he had a solid return for the Heat. However, it was spoiled by the Atlanta Hawks in a 98-85 loss.
The Hawks had just clinched the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, which is good enough to send them to the playoffs. They are expected to possibly face the Heat again in the playoffs since they are tied for the top seed.
According to ESPN, the Heat held a half-game lead over the Indiana Pacers before losing to the Hawks.
Small forward LeBron James led the Heat with 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Wade added 24 points in his return on 10-for-14 shooting. However, James and Wade each struggled with their free throw shooting. James shot 4-for-8 while Wade shot 4-for-9 from the charity stripe. The Heat only made 47.4 percent of their free throws as a team.
Point guard Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 25 points, and shooting guard Lou Williams added 23 points off the bench, according to Sun Sentinel.