MIAMI (AP) — Royce O’Neale’s putback with 3.2 seconds left put Brooklyn to stay, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday night in a game where Kevin Durant left early with a right knee injury.
Kyrie Irving scored 29 to lead the Nets, who have now won 18 of their last 20 — after winning only nine of their first 20 games. Durant had 17 before departing and Seth Curry scored 14 for Brooklyn.
Nic Claxton had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 for Miami, which got 24 from Tyler Herro. Butler missed a contested shot at the rim on the game’s final play, and Herro was shaken up on it as well before limping off — replays showing he may have slipped.
GRIZZLIES 123, JAZZ 118
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Desmond Bane had 24 points and nine assists, Tyus Jones added 21 points and Memphis, playing without leading scorer Ja Morant, defeated Utah.
Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocks as Morant was a late scratch with right thigh soreness. That led to Jones running the first unit for Memphis. Jones also had six assists as Memphis won its sixth straight.
Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 21 points, while Kelly Olynyk added 19 points. Each also had eight rebounds. Jordan Clarkson had 17 points before he was ejected late in the third quarter, and Malik Beasley added 15 points. Rookie Walker Kessler finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.
In addition to Morant, Memphis was without center Steven Adams, sidelined with a non-COVID illness. That took the Grizzlies’ leading scorer and top rebounder off the floor.
CAVALIERS 112, SUNS 98
PHOENIX (AP) — Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell both scored 22 points and Cleveland pulled away late to beat banged-up Phoenix.
The Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. It’s the second time this week the Cavs have topped the Suns after beating them 90-88 on Wednesday.
Struggling Phoenix — playing without their All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker — has dropped six in a row and nine of 10. The Suns now have a 20-21 record, which is the first time they have been under .500 all season.
The offensively challenged Suns failed to top 100 points for a fourth straight game.
HAWKS 112, CLIPPERS 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trae Young scored 30 points and Atlanta sent reeling Los Angeles to its season-worst sixth straight loss.
De’Andre Hunter added 20 points for the Hawks, who blew a 17-point, first-half lead before rallying from 11 points down in the fourth to pull out the win.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points. Ivica Zubac had 17 points and 18 rebounds on a night when Paul George missed his second straight game with right hamstring soreness.
THUNDER 120, MAVERICKS 109
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and Oklahoma City beat Dallas.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league’s top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic — the NBA’s scoring leader with 34 points per game — sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws.
Christian Wood had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.
76ERS 123, PISTONS 111
DETROIT (AP) — James Harden had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Philadelphia to a comfortable victory over Detroit.
Tyrese Maxey added 23 points and Montrez Harrell scored 20 for the Sixers, who have won four of five.
Killian Hayes scored 25 points for Detroit, which has alternated wins and losses in its last seven games after a six-game losing streak. Isaiah Stewart finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points.
The Sixers led 71-54 at halftime, thanks to Harrell’s 16 points and Harden’s 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Harden only needed 27 seconds in the second half to complete his triple-double, setting up Tobias Harris’ basket to put Philadelphia up by 19.
PACERS 116, HORNETS 111
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Myles Turner scored 29 points, Buddy Hield had 21 and Indiana capped the first half of its regular-season schedule with a comeback victory over Charlotte.
Tyrese Haliburton finished with 16 points, 13 assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter and needed a series of clutch plays in the final minutes to improve their record to 23-18 at the midpoint.
P.J. Washington had 22 points and five rebounds for the Hornets. Terry Rozier chipped in 19 points, six assists and six boards, and Mason Plumlee wound up with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
RAPTORS 117, TRAIL BLAZERS 105
TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 27 points, Scottie Barnes had 22 and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Portland.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 against his former team and Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby each had 14 as the Raptors halted a five-game losing streak against Portland.
Toronto won for the second time in nine home games, and the fourth time in its past 15 overall.
Damian Lillard scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter but Portland’s road losing streak reached seven.
Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 18 rebounds, Anfernee Simons scored 22 points and Josh Hart had 18. Portland has lost three straight and seven of nine.
TIMBERWOLVES 104, ROCKETS 96
HOUSTON (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 22 points and Anthony Edwards added 21 as Minnesota overcame a big early deficit to beat Houston for its fourth straight win.
Minnesota scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take an 88-81 lead. Rudy Gobert had four points in that span and Taurean Prince added a 3-pointer. Houston missed six shots and had a turnover to help the Timberwolves go on top.
Porter had 25 points and Alperen Sengun added 18 for the Rockets, who dropped their seventh in a row. Jalen Green had a tough game, making just four of 15 shots overall, including just one of six 3-point attempts to finish with nine points.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The Associated Press
