Aldridge, Leonard carry Spurs past Heat
MIAMI — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 and the San Antonio Spurs got seven points on one possession in the fourth quarter en route to defeating the Miami Heat 119-101 on Tuesday night.
Danny Green added 15 for the Spurs, who have won six straight over the Heat dating to the 2014 NBA Finals.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting for Miami, which goes into the All-Star break on a two-game slide. Chris Bosh scored 18 points and Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and six rebounds before he was ejected in that pivotal possession in the fourth.
Miami trailed by 15 in the third but closed to 8780 with 9:51 left.
One possession later, the storyline changed.
Patty Mills made a 3 -pointer while getting fouled by Beno Udrih to get things started. Mills made the free throw, and Whiteside was assessed a flagrant-2 for elbowing the Spurs’ Boban Marjanovic as they tried to get position for a rebound. Marjanovic made one free throw and Leonard hit a jumper to complete the possession.
Just like that, the Spurs were up 94 -80 and the outcome wasn’t in doubt again.
OTHER GAMES
Jazz 121, Mavericks 119 (OT) at Dallas: Gordon Hayward hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer in overtime and Utah extended its season-best winning streak to seven games.
Rodney Hood had a tying 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in regulation as the Jazz ended a 10-game losing streak in Dallas.
Hood finished with 29 points, and Hayward had 20, including 13 in the second half and overtime.
Chandler Parsons led Dallas with 24 points in the Mavericks’ second straight overtime game and NBA-high eighth of the season.
Wizards 111, Knicks 108 at New York: John Wall had 28 points and 17 assists, Bradley Beal scored 26, and Washington beat New York in the Knicks’ first game under new interim coach Kurt Rambis.
Wall made four free throws in the f inal 6.6 seconds and the Wizards held on when Langston Galloway’s 3-point shot at the buzzer was just short.
Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and 13 rebounds, but the Knicks lost their sixth straight in their first game since firing Derek Fisher on Monday.
Bucks 112, Celtics 111 at Milwaukee: Khris Middleton made one of two free throws with 0.6 seconds left and Milwaukee stopped Boston.
Middleton drew a foul on Avery Bradley to get to the line.
Greg Monroe had 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Bucks ended a fivegame losing streak.
Jae Crowder and Bradley had 18 points each for the Celtics.
DEVELOPMENTS
Clippers suspend Griffin: Blake Griffin was suspended four games without pay on Tuesday for punching a team staff member, and the Los Angeles Clippers will dock his pay for an additional game because he broke his shooting hand.
A team spokesman said the suspension will begin when Griffin is healthy, cleared to play and active. He was expected to be out 4 to 6 weeks while his hand heals from the Jan. 23 altercation in Toronto.
Butler out 3-4 weeks: Bulls guard Jimmy Butler will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a strained left knee and will be replaced in this weekend’s All-Star Game by Chicago teammate Pau Gasol.
The Bulls said Tuesday that Butler has begun rehabbing his knee and will focus on conditioning over the next few weeks. He was injured during Friday night’s game at Denver.
Kings stick with Karl: George Karl remains the coach of the Sacramento Kings — for now.
General manager Vlade Divac said in a statement Tuesday that Karl “is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”
Sacramento is 21-31 and on a four-game losing streak going into tonight’s game in Philadelphia.