Buzzer-beater snaps Miami’s 3-game skid
MIAMI — Bam Adebayo was supposed to call timeout. He had another idea. This was the scenario that he had envisioned in his mind so many times, game tied, crowd on its feet, ball in his hands, final seconds ticking away.
“Your moment,” Adebayo told himself.
He delivered — when the Miami Heat needed him most.
Adebayo drove left, stopped and watched his 13-foot jumper rattle in as time expired, a shot that allowed the Heat to beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-107 on Sunday to end a three-game slide.
It was.
Adebayo had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat, who trailed by six points in the final minutes before finishing the game on a 10-2 run.
Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Kendrick Nunn scored 17 and Trevor Ariza had 15 for Miami.
Landry Shamet had 30 points for Brooklyn, and Kyrie Irving scored 20 for the Nets. Brooklyn played again without James Harden, sidelined with a hamstring issue, and lost Kevin Durant early in the first quarter with a left thigh contusion.
Miami controlled the finish, and needed to. A loss would have left Miami 2½ games behind New York in the race for the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 spot that will keep a team out of the play-in tournament. Instead, the Heat remained 1½ back with 15 games remaining.
Durant left 4:03 into the game, after scoring Brooklyn’s first eight points. He was fouled on a drive 1:33 into the contest and missed both free throws — only the second time this season that he went 0 for 2 on a trip to the foul line.
He left not long afterward, and the Nets quickly declared his day over. Durant has missed 33 of Brooklyn’s 57 games.
KINGS 121, MAVERICKS 107
DALLAS — De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points, Harrison Barnes added 24 and Terence Davis II 23 as Sacramento snapped a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Dallas.
Barnes scored 11 in the third quarter as the Kings built a 21-point lead midway through the period. Sacramento held off a late Dallas run that cut the lead to six with 3½ minutes left.
Luka Doncic scored 37 points, 22 in the fourth quarter, for the Mavericks, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.
HAWKS 129, PACERS 117
ATLANTA — Trae Young scored 34 points, Clint Capela had 25 points and 24 rebounds and Atlanta beat Indiana.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter each chipped in 23 points and Young had 11 assists for the Hawks, who have won eight of 10 and are 17-6 under interim coach Nate McMillan.
Malcolm Brogdon finished with 29 points and Domantas Sabonis and T.J. McConnell scored 18 apiece for Indiana.
KNICKS 122, PELICANS 112 (OT)
NEW YORK — Julius Randle had 33 points and 10 assists, Derrick Rose made huge plays all over the court to spark New York’s streak-saving finish and the Knicks beat New Orleans for their sixth consecutive victory.
Rose scored 23 points. He had the assist on Reggie Bullock’s three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, blocked a last shot by the Pelicans that would’ve won it and then opened overtime with a steal and layup to give New York the lead for good.
Zion Williamson had 34 points and nine rebounds in his first career game at Madison Square Garden.
BLAZERS 109, HORNETS 101
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Terry Rozier had 34 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, and Charlotte rode a strong first quarter to a win over Portland, snapping a fourgame losing streak.
P.J. Washington had 23 points and eight rebounds after missing three games with an ankle injury, and Miles Bridges added 19 points, including two highlight-reel dunks for the Hornets.
Carmelo Anthony had six three-pointers and 24 points for the Trail Blazers, who played without star Damian Lillard for the second consecutive game due to a hamstring injury. CJ McCollum scored 22 points.
ROCKETS 114, MAGIC 110
ORLANDO, Fla. — Christian Wood scored 25 points, Kelly Olynyk added 24 and Houston used a strong offensive showing in the third quarter to rally past Orlando.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 and made four three-pointers points before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter as the Rockets snapped a five-game losing streak and a five-game road skid.
RAPTORS 112, THUNDER 106
TAMPA, Fla. — Chris Boucher had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and Toronto extended Oklahoma City’s season-worst losing streak to 10 games.
Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points for Toronto. Malachi Flynn had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Luguentz Dort scored 29 points and Darius Bazley added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder.
CLIPPERS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 105
LOS ANGELES — Paul George scored 23 points and Los Angeles routed Minnesota for its eighth win in nine games.
Kawhi Leonard had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in his return from a four-game absence because of a sore right foot. Fans attending a Clippers game at Staples Center for the first time in over a year saw their team hit a season-high 21 three-pointers.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead the Wolves.