Heat spoil Kevin Durant's return, repel Nets
MANILA, Philippines — The Miami Heat soured Kevin Durant's first game back from injury for the Brooklyn Nets with a 113-107 victory at the Barclays Center in New York on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).
The Heat, who own the best record in the Eastern Conference, staved off a Brooklyn side that fought back from 12 points down late in the last four minutes of the game.
Bam Adebayo banked in a jumpshot with 35.5 ticks left in the game to stop a 10-0 Brooklyn run and pad Miami's lead to four, 111-107.
Durant then missed on a fadeaway after a Brooklyn timeout, failing to cut the deficit to a single-possession lead.
Forced to play the foul game, Patty Mills sent Tyler Herro to the charity stripe.
Herro converted on two free throws to further distance themselves from the Nets.
Adding insult to injury was a turnover by Goran Dragic with 15.6 ticks left off of a steal by Adebayo to put the nail on the coffin.
The Nets thus lost their third game in a row.
Adebayo was the top scorer for the Heat with 30 points on a scorching 12-of-15 shooting.
He also had 11 boards, six assists, and two steals.
Herro, for his part, played supporting role with 27 markers -- 11 of which he scored in the final salvo.
Caleb Martin and Max Strus also picked up the slack on offense for the Heat who were without Jimmy Butler as they finished with 22 and 21 points, respectively.
Durant, meanwhile, finished with 31 points, four rebounds, four assists and a block in his first game since mid-January.
Bruce Brown chipped in 21 points in the losing effort.
The Heat improved to 42-22 for the year while the Nets fall to .500 at 32-32.
Elsewhere, birthday boy Jayson Tatum and the Celtics outbattled Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies at home, 120-107.
Tatum finished with 37 points, six boards and five assists for the Celtics as they increased their win total for the season to 38.
Morant, meanwhile, had 38 points, seven assists and four boards for the 43-21 Grizzlies.
In the other games, Trae Young's 39-point outburst towed the Atlanta Hawks past the Chicago Bulls, 130-124.
Young tallied 13 assists and three rebounds as well in the Hawks' 30th win of the year.
The Detroit Pistons, for their part, edged the Toronto Raptors on the road, 108-106.
Top draft pick Cade Cunningham finished with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds.
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