Double-double for Adams
Goran Dragic had 26 points and 11 assists, and Dwyane Wade added 25 points in the Heat’s 116-107 win yesterday over the Thunder, who played without the suspended Russell Westbrook.
Kelly Olynyk added 18 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which moved within one game of seventh-place Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference. The Heat snapped a six-game losing streak against Oklahoma City, who have now lost nine of their last 13 games to fall to sixth in the Western Conference.
‘‘We put our track shoes on, put all our pads on and went out there ready for a tough basketball game that has a playoff kind of feel to it,’’ said Wade, who played 33 minutes.
Paul George scored 31 points with nine rebounds and Jerami Grant had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Dennis Schroder, who started in Westbrook’s place, scored 20 points.
Kiwi big man Steven Adams had 10 points and 12 rebounds but was limited by trouble to 25 minutes.
Westbrook picked up his NBA-leading 16th technical foul in a loss to Golden State on Sunday, earning an automatic one-game suspension at a pivotal time for his team. He was not with the team yesterday and thus not inside Chesapeake Energy Arena to watch the Thunder struggle, shooting 43.7 per cent and committing 19 turnovers.
Without Schroder running the second unit, Oklahoma City’s bench lacked scoring punch and it showed, as Miami’s reserves outscored the Thunder’s 67-10. Dragic and Wade both came off the bench for the Heat, and reserve James Johnson had 14 points.
‘‘The reality is, we’re bringing some firepower off the bench,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘‘Our starters have been tremendous, but it’s not going to work in this league all the time. You’re not always going to be able to get off to the starts that you want. We’re bringing a Hall of Famer off the bench, an All-Star ... it’s not like we’re cringing when we go to the bench. It takes a collective effort.’’ foul