7:15 - Didn't take too long for the first highlight of the evening - On the Hawks second possession, Anthony Johnson just threw an almost three-quarter court alley-oop to Josh Smith for the reverse jam. It was sick. Check YouTube for it later. Meanwhile, Shaq just hit 2-2 from the line. That can't be a great sign.

7:17 - The Heat are off to a good start, getting out to an 8-2 lead that causes Hawks coach Mike Woodson to call a quick timeout. The Hawks haven't gotten any great looks so far aside from the alley-oop to Smoove.

Apropos of nothing else, I am sitting on press row with Hawks Wizards of PR Jason Roose and Jonathan Carl, who hopefully will provide me with interesting nuggets throughout the evening to pass along to you.

7:19 - The Hawks are cold as ice from the field, starting out 1-8 from the floor. Josh Smith misses a close one, but gets the offensive board and shuffles it to Marvin for the hoop and the harm. 12-6 Miami.

7:22 - Josh Smith is active again tonight, as he has 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists just halfway through the first quarter. Roose wasn't giving any predictions before this game (he nearly missed on his tripadub prediction on Monday), but I feel at least a double-double coming for him. We are turning the ball over way too much so far. According to the stat sheet we only have two, but it feels like more (does that make sense?). It's 14-8 Heat at the first TV timeout with 5:38 left to play in the first.

7:25 - Tyronn Lue check in for his first action of the game. Hopefully he will get the Hawks back in some rhythm. He gives it off to Josh Smith, who takes it into the paint and kisses it high off the glass for two. So far tonight we have seen a lot more of "Good Josh" (driving to the basket, getting to the boards) than "Bad Josh" (content to hoist jumpers from the perimeter), which also bodes well. Lorenzen Wright uses one of his six to keep Shaq from hitting a gimme layup, and Shaq obliges by bricking two free throws. 2-4 now for the Diesel. 14-10 Heat with 4:20 left.

7:29 - Marvin Williams hits a jumper from two feet inside the three-point line. Man, when we get him to extend his range to three-points, he will add 4-5 points to his average right off the bat. Eddie Jones responds for Miami with a three, and he's got nine already. Why does Eddie Jones kill us like he does? What'd we ever do to him? Josh Smith has hit two more buckets (a nice change-in-midair-to-avoid-the-D layup and a jumper from the top of the key) and has nine points as well. Oh, and remember I said I'd give you cool stats courtesy of the PR staff? Well, following up on their season-high 32 assist performance on Monday, the Hawks have scored seven baskets so far and been credited with assists on all seven. Not bad, eh?

7:33 - I will say this for Josh Smith. He has a short memory for his mistakes. Seconds after missing a long jumper (bad), he gets a kickout off an offensive rebound from Lorenzen Wright and barrels in for a basket plus the foul (he missed the FT). As Roose has just pointed out (he is still irked at Smoove not making him a prophet on Monday), Josh Smith couldn't get into double figures in scoring in four quarters against the Kings, but already has 11 in the first quarter tonight.

7:37 - The Hawks take their first lead of the game at 22-21 on a nice feed from T-Lue to Shelden Williams for a jam, but Jason Williams nails a trey to make it 24-22 Heat at the end of one. I happened to watch a little film this morning with Herb Brown when we were breaking down the Heat, and I couldn't help but notice how often he likes to shoot threes. I thought they had cured him of that a bit over the years, but it seems like he is right back to his Sacramento days. Of course, he won a title last season, so I guess I can't say too much about the kid. I will say this though - Jason Williams, or versions thereof, seems to be a pretty cursed name. Jayson Williams accidentally committed manslaughter, Jay Williams ruined his basketball career riding a motorcycle, and Jason Williams...just committed an offensive foul to start the second quarter. Maybe that's not as bad as the other two.