Advertisement

Nunn, Heat squeak past Nets

Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points and hit a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch as the Miami Heat held on for a 116-113 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

Nunn's biggest shot of the night was a 3-pointer from the right side with one second left on the shot clock that gave Miami a 112-103 lead with 2:44 remaining. It came after the Heat grabbed two offensive rebounds.

The Nets came right back and were within 112-110 on a reverse layup by Spencer Dinwiddie with 80 seconds left.

After Goran Dragic's jumper over Jarrett Allen made it 114-110 with 13.7 seconds left, Brooklyn climbed within 114-113 on a 3-pointer by Joe Harris with 11.4 seconds left.

Jimmy Butler split a pair at the line with 9.1 seconds remaining to make it 115-113, and the Nets called a timeout.

This time the Nets could not execute, as Dinwiddie wound up throwing the ball into the second row after Harris was late to provide a screen off an inbounds play with 1.7 seconds left. Miami then secured its second straight victory when Dragic hit a free throw with four-tenths of a second left.

Nunn shot 9 of 14 and led seven players in double figures. Dragic added 19 points and 10 assists, while Butler and Bam Adebayo contributed 16 points apiece.

Jae Crowder contributed 13 points, Derrick Jones Jr. finished with 12, and Duncan Robinson chipped in 10 as Miami shot 45.1 percent and made 36.8 percent (14 of 38) of its 3-pointers.

Dinwiddie led all scorers with 25 points, but the Nets dropped their fourth straight game, with three of those losses coming by four points or less. Harris added 20 points and Allen contributed 17 as Brooklyn shot 46.5 percent and made 36.4 percent (16 of 44) of its 3-point tries.

Miami led 91-80 entering the fourth and opened a 96-82 lead on a 3-pointer by Crowder with 8:31 remaining before allowing the Nets to score the next nine points in a little over a minute.

The Nets held a 27-24 lead after the first quarter on a floater by Caris LeVert with 9.7 seconds remaining. Dinwiddie forged a 36-36 tie with 7:01 remaining, but Miami took a 57-49 halftime lead on an off-balance 3-pointer by Dragic at the buzzer.

--Field Level Media