National Basketball Association results | Tuesday

Heat 100, Cavaliers 97

CLEVELAND — Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Miami beat Cleveland.

Caleb Martin scored 18 points and matched his career high with 10 rebounds, and Tyler Herro also had 18 points for the Heat. They moved within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.

Butler, who has been slowed by injuries much of the season, hit a short jumper to put the Heat up 98-93 with 1:23 left, and his free throw kept the Heat up by five with 12 seconds left.

But Darius Garland hit a 3-pointer to pull the Cavs within 99-97 with 8.7 seconds remaining.

The Cavs fouled Butler with 7.3 seconds left. He split his free throws, giving Cleveland a chance to tie, but All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was short.

Evan Mobley scored 19 points, Mitchell had 16 and Jarrett Allen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who dropped to 21-6 at home.

Mitchell and Darius Garland were a combined 4 of 19 on 3-pointers.

Bucks 124, Hornets 115

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 18 rebounds and Milwaukee beat Charlotte to win its fifth straight and avenge one of its most embarrassing losses of the season.

The Bucks withstood a triple-double from Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, who had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Charlotte (16-36) entered the night with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, but the Hornets won 138-109 at Milwaukee on Jan. 6 to hand the Bucks their second-most lopsided loss of the season. The Hornets had 51 points in the opening period that night — matching the NBA record for a first quarter — and limited Antetokounmpo to nine points.

Even after scoring 50 points in a 135110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, Antetokounmpo spent part of his postgame press conference talking about how the Bucks needed to play better in the rematch with the Hornets.

The Hornets still made this one interesting.

Milwaukee took a 114-97 lead on an Antetokounmpo 3-pointer with 7:13 left but wouldn’t make another basket until Antetokounmpo provided a driving layup with 27.1 seconds remaining.

Nuggets 122, Pelicans 113

DENVER — Jamal Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic got his 16th tripledouble of the season and the Denver Nuggets held off the reeling New Orleans Pelicans 122-113 on Tuesday night.

Jokic finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists as the Western Conference leaders improved to 16-0 when Jokic has a triple-double. Murray made a season-high seven 3-pointers on his way to a big night.

CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones both scored 21 points for the Pelicans, who have dropped nine straight games. They finished 3-13 in January.

Part of the reason for the slide has been the absence of standout Zion Williamson, who has missed 15 straight games with a hamstring injury. The Nuggets led by 13 early in the fourth quarter only to see the Pelicans cut it to five on several occasions, including a layup by Jones with less than a minute remaining. Murray and Jokic each converted a pair of free throws down the stretch to help Denver fend off New Orleans and move to 23-4 at home.

Jokic, who’s been dealing with tightness in his left hamstring, had another efficient shooting performance in going 10 of 14 from the floor.