Nets fall to Bulls in 1st game after Nash
Heat rally past Warriors
NEW YORK, Nov 2, (AP): Zach LaVine scored 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 108-99 victory over Brooklyn on Tuesday night in the Nets’ first game after a coaching change.
The Nets announced Steve Nash was out earlier in the day, then fell to 2-6 with Jacque Vaughn leading them.
Kevin Durant had 32 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, but Kyrie Irving managed only four points on 2-for-12 shooting. He missed all six 3-point attempts.
DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and Ayo Dosunmu had 17 for the Bulls, who outscored the Nets 31-19 in the final quarter. Goran Dragic, who played last season with the Nets, chipped in 15 off the bench as the Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak.
Royce O’Neale matched his career high with 20 points and Nic Claxton had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who played without Ben Simmons for a second straight night because of a sore left knee.
LaVine and the Bulls trailed 80-77 at the start of the fourth quarter before the All-Star guard heated up. The Nets still led 88-84 before Dosunmu sparked a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer opposite the Bulls bench to take a 91-88 lead.
Heat 116, Warriors 109
In Miami, Jimmy Butler scored five straight points late to give Miami the lead, Max Strus led all scorers with 24 and the Heat overcame a triple-double from Stephen Curry to beat the Golden State Warriors 116-109 .
BASKETBALL
Butler scored 23 points, including a three-point play with 1:48 left that put the Heat ahead to stay. Bam Adebayo added 19, Duncan Robinson had 17 and Kyle Lowry scored 13 for Miami, which won on coach Erik Spoelstra’s 52nd birthday.
Curry had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for the Warriors, who dropped their third straight and dropped to 3-5 - 0-4 on the road. Andrew Wiggins added 21 points and Klay Thompson scored 19.
Suns 116, Timberwolves 107
In Phoenix, Cam Johnson scored 29 points, making seven 3-pointers, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 for their fifth straight victory.
Johnson finished 7 of 11 behind the arc and 10 for 17 overall for the Suns, who were playing without center Deandre Ayton because of a sprained left ankle. Mikal Bridges had 19 points for Phoenix (6-1) and Devin Booker scored 16, though Booker was just 2 of 7 from 3-point range.
Chris Paul had 14 points, 12 assists and a team-high eight rebounds for the Suns, who led by as many as 18 points, though Minnesota got as close as 87-85 in the fourth quarter.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 24 points apiece. Towns had 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Edwards made five 3-pointers in 10 attempts.
Despite the absence of Ayton, the Suns held their own on the boards against the taller Timberwolves, with Minnesota outrebounding Phoenix 42-34. The Wolves entered the night third in the NBA in rebounding with 49 per game.
Thunder 116, Magic 108
In Oklahoma City, for a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“MVP! MVP!” chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/ Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in
the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.