Butler has 32 points as Heat beat Wizards
MIAMI >> Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and the 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.
GRIZZLIES 120, CLIPPERS 108 >> Ja Morant scored 17 of his 28-points in a third-quarter rally in Memphis’ victory over 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. TIMBERWOLVES 115, SPURS 90>> Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota beat 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. The Spurs have lost four in a row.
76ERS 103, NUGGETS 89 >>Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, Seth Curry added 20 and short-handed Philadelphia beat Denver to snap a five-game losing streak.
Playing without Joel Embiid and three other regulars, the 76ers held Nikola Jokic to three points in the second half.
JAZZ 119, RAPTORS 103 >> Rudy Gay hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in his season debut to help Utah beat Toronto.