Heat top Nets with second-half surge
Durant and Harden combine for halftime lead, but fall to Miami
Bam Adebayo had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-93 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points for Miami (3-1). P.J. Tucker finished with 15, and Tyler Herro and Dewayne Dedmon each contributed 14.
A preseason favorite to win the NBA championship, Brooklyn has alternated losses and wins through the first five games of the season and dropped to 2-3. Kevin Durant finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Joe Harris contributed 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range. With his third 3-pointer of the game, Harris passed Jason Kidd as the franchise’s career leader in made 3-pointers.
James Harden had 14 points and Bruce Brown chipped in with 12.
The first of four regular-season matchups between the Eastern Conference rivals was a contrast in styles, the flashy, uptempo, high-scoring Nets against a physical Heat squad.
Despite forcing the Nets to play a possession-by-possession game for much of the first half, the Heat trailed 51-49 at the half. Miami had outscored Brooklyn in the paint (30-20), had more second-chance points (15-2), and had a decided edge in rebounds (35-25).
What the Heat did not have, though, was the tandem of Durant and Harden, who combined for 25 of Brooklyn’s 51 points in the half.
Hornets 120, Magic 111: Miles Bridges scored 31 points, Gordon Hayward added 24 and Charlotte beat Orlando for its fourth win in five games. Bridges hit a 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining to put the game away for the Hornets.
Raptors 118, Pacers 100: Fred Vanvleet had a season-high 26 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, OG Anunoby scored a season-high 25 points, and Toronto won at home for the first time in 20 months.
Hawks 102, Pelicans 99: Trae Young scored 31 points and Atlanta capitalized on 21 offensive rebounds to hold off New Orleans. The teams were tied at 98 when the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram shot an airball from 3-point range.
Wizards 116, Celtics 107: Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting and had 11 rebounds in Washington’s victory over Boston.
Timberwolves 113, Bucks 108: D’angelo Russell scored 29 points, Karl-anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards each added 25, and Minnesota held off Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 points for the Bucks.
Thunder 123, Lakers 115: Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 27 points, and Oklahoma City rallied from 26 points down to beat Los Angeles.