ATLANTA – Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 126-111 victory over the Atlanta Hawks:

– The night started with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked pregame how he would handle a team that preferred to play at pace as much as his own.

– The response was something along the lines of f-that.

– That he wanted his team to get back to its game, regardless of the preferences and predilections of the opposition.

– So 12 Hawks turnovers in the first half.

– And 14 Heat fastbreak points in the second period.

– Suddenly it again felt like off-to-the-races October and November for the Heat.

– Fast meet faster.

– “Look,” Spoelstra said going in, “it always comes down to who can dictate the game, who can get on their terms more than the other team. We’re not playing fast enough. So I know that we need to kick it into another gear, and that’s regardless of Atlanta.”

– Gear activated.

” I know and we know they’re dangerous in the open court, as well. So it would probably be a good game for fans to watch,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re going to try to get it on our terms more than it’s on fair terms or even terms.”

– Later, in the fourth quarter, it was that theft-at-pace approach that helped put it away.

– With Bam Adebayo sidelined, the Heat opened with a lineup of Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson.

– The Hawks opened with a lineup of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu.

– It was another night when the Heat were outsized at every starting position but center (7-0 Ware vs. 6-9 Okongwu).  Otherwise: 6-9 Risacher vs. 6-7 Wiggins; 6-9 Johnson vs. 6-5 Larsson; 6-7 Daniels vs. 6-4 Powell; and 6-1 Young vs. 6-0 Mitchell.

–  Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis entered together first off the bench.

– That Jakucionis played even with Larsson back was another indication of having won a rotation spot.

– Dru Smith then made it eight deep for the Heat.

– With Nikola Jovic returning from his elbow injury as ninth man.

– Spoelstra acknowledged pregame the defensive expectations change without Adebayo.

– “We know what he does for our defense, but we have the habits that we need to to put ourselves in a position to win games even without him,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re going to have to have guys step up, be reliable, bring that level of competitive toughness throughout the rotation.”

– Spoelstra went in insisting it is about more than numbers.

– “Even as we’ve competed recently and some of our metrics have been down, they still have been good enough to get a win,” he said. “We just have to figure out how to do it.”

– Expectations remain high.

– “We’re not as bad as our record in these 10 games is,” Jovic said. “We know how good we are. It’s tough. We had some games that we for sure could have won. We had some games where a team went off and made a lot of shots that they usually don’t make. But I feel like we just need to find a way to win, and that’s what Spo says.”

– Jovic added, “The most important thing for us now is to find a way to win, find a way. And find a game plan that’s going to help us win every game, and that’s what we’re trying to do. And I think for us, that it’s just being aggressive and I think bringing more energy to the game.”

– The game opened the sixth of the Heat’s 15 back-to-back sets this season, with the set concluding Saturday night at Kaseya Center against the Pacers. The Heat enter 3-2 on the second nights of such pairings.