HEAT GRINDER
Nets chewed up late in defeat
The Heat had their superstar, and the Nets didn’t. Jimmy Butler made gamewinning plays, and Kyrie Irving was still waiting to be cleared for contact.
That was the biggest difference in the final minutes Sunday afternoon. The Nets needed a closer when the Heat’s finisher took over. Spencer Dinwiddie can do only so much.
It ruined the good vibes from their recent run without their new superstar guard, with the Nets blowing a seven-point lead in the final 1:45 of a dismal 109-106 loss to the surprising Heat in front of 17,026 at Barclays Center.
Struggling most of the day, Butler came alive late, knocking down the goahead free throws with 29.7 seconds left and scoring eight of his 20 points in the final 5:38. Dinwiddie, who has played so well in Irving’s absence due to a right shoulder impingement these last nine games, missed a running onehander in the lane on the other end with 12 seconds to play as the Nets were outscored 10-0 down the stretch. Butler, meanwhile, drew three fouls in the final 1:07, hitting five of six free throws.
“That’s his M.O. That’s what he does,” Dinwiddie said. “He likes to get in that mid-range, start pump-faking, get to the line. That’s literally his game.”
After a Joe Harris 3-pointer pushed the Nets’ lead to seven with 1:45 to go, the game seemed in hand. But Goran Dragic had a three-point play and Butler sank two free throws. Meanwhile, the Nets (10-10) went ice cold, scoring just three points in the final 4:24, missing seven of their last eight shots.
“We had opportunities, tons of opportunities,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They made plays. We didn’t.”
Despite shooting 1 of 7 in the fourth quarter with a turnover, Dinwiddie was again brilliant, scoring 29 points and adding six rebounds and four assists, two days after blistering the Celtics for 32 points and 11 assists. Without Irving, he has gone from super-sub to alpha dog, thriving in that role while keeping his teammates involved.
“I don’t think we’re even in the game if it’s not for his performance,” Atkinson said.
Harris served as a worthwhile sidekick on Sunday, scoring a season-high 25 points and knocking down three 3-pointers in the final stanza. The bench, led by DeAndre Jordan (15 points, eight rebounds), performed well, keying an 11-5 run to start the fourth quarter that gave the Nets a cushion.
It wasn’t enough for a seventh win in nine games, despite the Nets’ controlling the game until the final few minutes. They struggled offensively in the second half, scoring just 41 points, but it was enough until the game’s final few possessions, when they couldn’t keep Butler off the free-throw line.
After beefing up on losing teams, Atkinson’s group pushed the Celtics and Heat, Eastern Conference playoff contenders they faced the past three games. They split with the Celtics and lost this one to the Heat (14-5).
The vibe in the locker room was of disappointment, but progress. There have been encouraging signs over the past nine games, six of them wins. And, soon, they’ll have their closer back.
“The floor is definitely higher because of how we’re playing, but we have no idea what our ceiling is, because we’re not even close [to having our whole team],” said Dinwiddie, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week. “We really have no idea how good we can be. It’s going to be fun to explore that, to continue building every day.” zbraziller@nypost.com