MIAMI -- Call him Coach Millsap.

Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap had 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and one rather large strategic suggestion as his Atlanta Hawks held off the Miami Heat 93-90 on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Dennis Schroder led Atlanta's balanced offense with 18 points, but it was Millsap who showed perhaps the most leadership.

After 6-11, 265-pound Hawks center Dwight Howard was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with a bruised left quadriceps, Millsap, a 6-8, 245-pound power forward, made sure to get in the ear of Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer.

"(Hassan) Whiteside is a load," Millsap said of Miami's 7-0, 265-pound center who had 19 points, 25 rebounds, two steals and one block. "Down the stretch, I had to convince Coach to let me play the five position.

"I told Coach I would go in there and do my best to keep him off the glass and try to contain him. He trusted me to do it, and we were able to win the game."

Whiteside was held to two rebounds and no points in the final 4:30 of the game.

The win was the fifth straight for Atlanta (8-2), and the Hawks got some hopeful news after the game on Howard, who had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes.

"He took a knee to his knee or just above his knee," Budenholzer said. "There is some swelling. We will be aggressive and hopefully get him ready to play tomorrow."

The Hawks, who have been effective closing out teams so far this season, leading the league in fewest points allowed in the fourth quarter, did it again on Tuesday.

Leading 89-88, Atlanta's Kent Bazemore made two free throws with 11.8 seconds left. Miami's Josh Richardson got a dunk on the other end, and Schroder's two free throws provided the final margin. Miami's Dion Waiters badly missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

As for Whiteside, his 25 rebounds tied his career high and are also the most for any player in the NBA so far this season.

Whiteside also had 10 offensive rebounds, which again tied a career high.

"He is feeling the responsibility of inspiring and helping a team win," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Whiteside. "It's a big responsibility. He's trying to make big-time plays on both ends of the court, and you get better from that."

But despite Whiteside's brilliance, Miami (2-8) lost its sixth straight game. The Heat, playing without injured starters Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, is just 1-5 at home.

Miami ended the first quarter with a 25-22 lead. Whiteside had nine rebounds in the quarter, just two less than the entire Hawks team.

Atlanta surged with a 19-5 run over the final six minutes of the second quarter, and the Hawks went into halftime with a 49-43 lead.

After Miami regained the lead early in the third quarter, Atlanta closed the period on a 10-3 run, giving the Hawks a 72-67 advantage.

In the end, it was yet another loss for the Heat, who committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

Citing two close losses to two top teams in two nights -- by four points to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday and then Tuesday's three-point loss to Atlanta -- Spoelstra said his team is building.

"We are developing collective toughness and grit," he said. "Eventually, we will get a breakthrough, and two or three months from now we can say, 'OK, that's when we started to build some of that toughness.' "

Added Whiteside: "We haven't played any bad teams. We've played playoff teams. We've played the Spurs twice, Toronto, Charlotte ... And we're not getting blown out. We're right there. It makes no sense to get down on ourselves."

NOTES: Heat SF Justise Winslow, who leads the team in minutes played, missed his first game of the season (injured left wrist). ... SG Rodney McGruder made his first NBA start. ... McGruder, a 25-year-old rookie from Kansas State, went undrafted in 2013, played professionally in Hungary and made his NBA debut this year on Oct. 26. ... Heat PG Goran Dragic missed his third straight game (sprained left ankle). He could return Thursday when the Milwaukee Bucks visit. ... Miami is still without backup SG Wayne Ellington (right thigh contusion). ... The Hawks played without backup C Tiago Splitter (right hamstring) and backup F Mike Scott (sore left knee). ... The Hawks lead the league in turnovers forced and rank second in assists. ... Up next, Atlanta returns home to face Milwaukee on Wednesday.