Heat’s Jones, UNLV product, hurt
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. —
Doug Mcdermott scored 23 points as the Indiana Pacers beat Miami 109-92 on Friday in a game delayed for several minutes late in the third quarter when Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. was carted off the court.
The UNLV product was attempting to get around a screen when he collided with 6-foot-11-inch Indiana center Goga Bitadze and fell to the floor. Jones lay on his stomach with his right arm on the back of his head for several minutes before he was fitted for a neck brace and carted off the floor.
The Heat announced via Twitter that Jones suffered a neck strain and had undergone an MRI examination, CT scan and concussion test. The team said Jones would be re-evaluated over the weekend.
The injury to the NBA’S reigning slam dunk champion came on a day when both teams were trying to stay as healthy as possible for their upcoming firstround playoff matchup.
“That just takes the air out of the building,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Even as competitors, you don’t want it on either side. You just want to be able to get through this game and be able to have everybody available for the playoffs.”
The Heat sat All-stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler as well as Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala. T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo and Myles Turn
er didn’t play for Indiana.
Sabonis, the Pacers’ leading rebounder, hasn’t played any games since the restart due to plantar fasciitis and is out indefinitely. Many of the other notable names who didn’t play were getting recovery time.
Malcolm Brogdon had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Pacers, who led nearly the entire way. Alize Johnson, a seldom-used 6-9 forward, had 11 points and 17 rebounds to set career highs in both categories.
Clippers 107, Thunder 103:
Terance Mann hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:30 left in overtime and totaled 25 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles, which rested three starters.
Amir Coffey had 21 points and Patrick Patterson 17 points and 14
rebounds for the Clippers. Hamidou Diallo had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Schroder 17 points for Oklahoma City.
■ Raptors 117, Nuggets 109: Stanley Johnson scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half for Toronto, which won its fourth straight and improved to 7-1 since the season restart.
Paul Watson added 22 points for the Raptors. P.J. Dozier hit 5 of 6 3-pointers and totaled 20 points for Denver, which never led over the final three quarters.
■ 76ers 134, Rockets 96: Tobias Harris scored 18 points and Alec Burks 16 for Philadelphia, which led 71-47 at halftime while both teams sat most of their starters.
James Harden had 27 points and 10 assists and Jeff Green 17 points for Houston.