Butler’s 32 points lead Heat to fourth consecutive victory

Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and the host Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards 112-97 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

The teams will meet again Saturday night in Washington.

Butler shot 11 of 19 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws in his second consecutive outing over 30 points.

Bam Adebayo added 20 points, Gabe Vincent had 18 points and P.J. Tucker 15. The Heat improved to 11-5.

Bradley Beal scored 30 points for Washington, and Kyle Kuzma added 19 points. The Wizards have lost two straight to drop to 10-5.

The Heat made 7 of 8-pointers in the third period to take control. Duncan Robinson’s 3-pointer with 3:59 remaining in the quarter gave Miami its largest lead at 75-57. The double-digit result was the ninth in the Heat’s 11 wins.

Guard Tyler Herro, Miami’s second-leader scorer, sat out because of a bruised right wrist. The Wizards rested third-leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie. GRIZZLIES 120, CLIPPERS 108 >> Ja Morant scored 17 of his 28-points in a third-quarter rally in Memphis’ victory over visiting Los Angeles.

Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points each, and Desmond Bane had 16. Brandon Clarke finished with 14 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter.

Paul George led the Clippers with 23 points and six assists. Reggie Jackson had 18 points, hitting 4 of 8 3-point attempts. Luke Kennard added 15 points for Los Angeles, going 6 of 8 overall and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Memphis held the lead through most of the game, but Morant provided an offensive burst in the third quarter and the Grizzlies stretched the advantage to 20 when Clark converted four consecutive inside baskets early in the fourth.

The Clippers entered the game having won eight of their last nine and coming off a 106-92 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday. Their defensive rating is among the best in the league.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, SPURS 90>> Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota beat visiting San Antonio.

D’Angelo Russell added 22 points, and Malik Beasley hit five of Minnesota’s season-high 21 3-pointers for all 15 of his points.

Devin Vassell scored 18 points for San Antonio, and Larry Walker IV and Keldon Johnson each had 12. The Spurs have lost four in a row.

The Wolves outrebounding the Spurs 47-42 and held them to just 41.7% shooting from the field and a seasonlow 90 points.