Miami @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 3, 2018 ) Atlanta 98, Miami 101

The Miami Heat clinched a playoff spot on the front end of the back-to-back with Atlanta and look to finish it off with another victory when they visit the Hawks on Wednesday. Miami rattled off the final 11 points of Tuesday's 101-98 victory to reach the playoffs for the 12th time in the past 15 seasons.

The Heat lost a tiebreaker for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot last season so coach Erik Spoelstra was glad to see the late rally that clinched a berth with four games left to play. "There is only one way with this group and it's the hard way," Spoelstra told reporters in his postgame press conference. "It's gratifying to see how the team finds a way to persevere and show resilience to get it done." Atlanta has dropped 12 of its last 14 games but received a strong outing from rookie power forward John Collins with 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Heat. Forward Taurean Prince played only 10 first-half minutes but Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer wasn't in a sharing mood per the reason, simply calling it a "coach's decision."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), FS Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE HEAT (42-36): Center Hassan Whiteside recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds in his first contest since angrily ripping Spoelstra for not playing him at all in the final 21 minutes of Saturday's overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Whiteside was fined an undisclosed amount for "comments detrimental to the team" and Spoelstra was not surprised that the big man responded in a positive fashion. "There is a lot of emotion in competition and it is so much different than in was 10 years ago," Spoelstra told reporters after the victory. "You saw his impact but let's be real about it, this is not the first time he has had an impact in a win this year and we will continue to build on this."

ABOUT THE HAWKS (22-56): Rookie guard Tyler Dorsey received 38 minutes of playing time on Tuesday and impressed Budenholzer by making four 3-pointers and contributing 18 points. "Tyler was great, he hit some big buckets," Budenholzer told reporters in a postgame television interview. "I think he is learning. This was a great test for him, their guards are physical so for him to get some separation and get some shots was great for him." Dorsey is averaging 18.5 points over the past two games and has reached double digits in six of the past seven games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Tuesday's victory gave the Heat a 2-1 lead in the season series.

2. Miami C Bam Adebayo (ankle) is expected to miss his third straight contest.

3. Atlanta C Dewayne Dedmon (rib) sat out Tuesday and is doubtful to play Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Hawks 96, Heat 93