Heat top depleted Lakers in Finals rematch
LOS ANGELES » Kendrick Nunn scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds, and the Miami Heat held off the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94 Saturday night in an NBA Finals rematch.
Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat in the teams’ first meeting since the Lakers won their 17th championship with a six-game victory over Miami in the Florida bubble four months ago.
LeBron James had 19 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as the defending NBA champions lost their second straight game without starters Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder.
James stole the Heat’s inbounds pass with 8.4 seconds left to create one last chance for the Lakers, but the 17-time All-Star passed off to Alex Caruso, who missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Heat scored only 15 points in the fourth quarter and barely held off Los Angeles down the stretch for their second straight win after a three-game skid during their seven-game
road trip.
Los Angeles also lost back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 27-28, falling to East contenders Brooklyn and Miami at Staples Center.
Davis missed his third straight game after aggravating his strained right calf last weekend, and Schröder missed his second straight under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points while hitting four 3-pointers, and Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers took their third loss in 11
games.
Kuzma’s three-point play with 1:28 left trimmed Miami’s lead to 94-92, but after Duncan Robinson fouled out on an offensive foul with 25 seconds left, Wesley Matthews missed a rushed, off-balance 3-pointer with 15 seconds to play.
SUNS 128, GRIZZLIES 97 » Devin Booker scored 23 points, hitting five of Phoenix’s franchise-record 24 3-pointers in a romp over short-handed Memphis.
Mikal Bridges added 19 points, making 6 of 7 shots overall and 4 of 5 from long range. Cam Payne also had 19 points, a season high, and Chris Paul added 16 points and six assists.
Phoenix won for the eighth time in nine games. The Suns made 22 3-pointers Friday night in New Orleans in a game where they outscored the Pelicans 4112 in the fourth quarter in a 132-114 victory.
Gorgui Dieng led Memphis with 15 points, most of them in a mop-up fourth quarter. Ja Morant had 12 points and five assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Grizzlies also were coming off a victory Friday night, at home over Detroit. Playing their fourth game in five nights, they rested key players Brandon Clarke, Kyle Anderson and Grayson Allen.
Justise Winslow returned after being out more than a year because of injuries. He missed all nine of his shots in the first half, eventually finishing with nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.
The Grizzlies missed their first 16 3-pointers and shot under 30% for most of the first half.
Phoenix led 65-34 at the half, and 96-64 after three.
Nothing has come easy for the San Jose Sharks this season. Not even when they build a three-goal lead for the first time all season.
None of that matters, though, when they’re able to come away with a win.
Logan Couture scored a go-ahead goal at the 11:51 mark of the third period as the Sharks earned a wild 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at Enterprise Center, taking three of a possible four points in the twogame series.
Couture also scored in the first period, Evander Kane had a goal and assist and Rudolfs Balcers scored his first goal of the season as the Sharks bounced back from a tough second period to pick up their third win in regulation time this season.
The Blues scored
four
times in the second period, including three goals in a span of 10 minutes, 4 seconds, as the Sharks coughed up two separate three-goal leads.
After Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 4-1 lead at the 8:18 mark of the second period, scoring his first of the season and the 563rd of his 23-year NHL career, the Blues answered with even strength goals by Zach Sanford, Ryan O’Reilly and Jordan Kyrou, with Kyrou’s goal coming at the 18:41 mark.
Devan Dubnyk, making his first start since Feb. 6, stopped 28 of 32 shots to earn his first win of the season. It was the second time this season he had been in net for a four-goal Blues outburst in a second period, as it also happened Jan. 18 when Dubnyk made his first Sharks start.