ATLANTA -- Miami coach Erik Spoelstra didn't want to entertain the notion that his team was playing especially free and easy Friday night because they were without three starters and down to nine healthy players.

"That might insinuate we were playing without any pressure and that wasn't the approach at all," Spoelstra said.

So with guard Dwayne Wade out with a sore knee and forward Chris Bosh back home dealing with a blood clot, the Heat relied on veteran forwards Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts to carry the load. They responded in the big way and Miami came away with a 115-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Heat (30-24) broke a two-game losing streak and won three of four meetings with the Hawks (33-25) this season. The win pulled Miami into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Deng scored 30 points and McRoberts came off the bench to score 19, a season high for both players.

"J Mac and Lou were terrific for us," Spoelstra said. "But it was all within the context of what we were trying to do. I didn't feel like they were trying to force anything or try anything to take up what Dwayne and C.B. give us.

"They were getting in the flow and being aggressive, and when you do that it makes your offense move more fluidly."

Deng made 11 of 17 shots from the floor and added 11 rebounds and four steals. McRoberts, who entered the game with only three 3-pointers all season, made three 3-pointers and scored a season-high 19 points. McRoberts also had eight rebounds and 10 assists.

"(McRoberts is) an out-of-the-box player," Spoelstra said. "He's unique. We have a few guys like that, guys that play a little out of the norm for their size. Josh's playmaking ability was clearly the key tonight, but that's who he is."

The Heat got 17 points and 10 assists from guard Goran Dragic and 13 points each from forward Justise Winslow and guard Gerald Green.

Atlanta was led by guard Jeff Teague with 23 points and seven assists before he fouled out. It was the fifth 20-point effort for Teague in the last nine games.

The Hawks also got 19 points off the bench from forward Mike Scott, 18 points from guard Kyle Korver, 16 points from guard Dennis Schroder, 14 points from center Al Horford and 12 points from forward Paul Millsap.

"I think to come off the break and play a team that had a lot of guys play well and step up ... I don't know what the right word is, but we have to be better," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I do believe in the character of our group, but at some point it has to happen on the court. And we believe it will."

Both teams showed the rust from a nine-day layoff in the first quarter. Neither team shot well -- 36 percent for Miami and 30 percent for Atlanta in the quarter.

Miami led by nine points with 2:48 left in the first half as Atlanta continue to struggle with its shooting and ball-handling. The Hawks had 11 turnovers in the half.

But with Horford scoring nine of his 11 first-half points in the second quarter, the Hawks came back and tied the score at 52 on Scott's 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Miami got 11 third-quarter points from Green and opened a six-point lead, the latest at 72-66. But the Hawks again came back on the strength of seven 3-pointers, three from Korver and two from Schroder, whose trey at the buzzer gave Atlanta an 81-79 lead.

"Definitely not the game we wanted," Korver said. "We have to be a little more physical and we have to play smarter. We can't just expect to play hard and that be enough. Hopefully, we'll keep getting better at that."

NOTES: Miami G Dwayne Wade missed the game after complaining of soreness in his left knee during the morning practice. "It's just soreness in the back of my left knee that I haven't felt in a while," he said. Wade will have an MRI on Saturday and be re-evaluated when the team returns home. Gerald Green started for Wade. The injury left the Heat with only nine healthy players. F Chris Bosh already was at home and out indefinitely with a blood clot issue and C Hassan Whiteside was suspended for one game by the league for throwing an elbow. ... Atlanta was without newly reacquired G Kirk Hinrich, obtained from Chicago in a three-team deal that sent G Shelvin Mack to Utah and G Justin Hoiday to the Bulls. Atlanta also got a future second-round pick from the Jazz. The Hawks have not filled a roster spot left vacant when F Tiago Splitter was ruled out for the season with hip surgery. ... Both teams play again Saturday. Atlanta hosts Milwaukee. Miami returns home to face Washington.