KYRIE Irving scored 29 points and Royce O’Neale hit the game-winning shot as the Brooklyn Nets overcame a second-half injury to Kevin Durant to beat the host Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday night (Monday in Manila).
O’Neale scored the go-ahead basket on a putback with 3.2 seconds left after rebounding an Irving 3-point miss. Miami’s Jimmy Butler missed a contested drive in the lane off the backboard as time expired. The Heat wanted a foul on an O’Neale bump at the end of the play, but they didn’t get one.
Durant left in the third quarter due to a bruised right knee. He appeared to get hurt when Butler accidentally rolled onto his leg. Durant finished with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. He entered the game averaging 30.0 points.
The Nets, who have won 14 of their past 15 games, also got 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from Nic Claxton. Butler led Miami with 26 points along with eight rebounds.
Tyler Herro, who returned after missing one game due to back spasms, added 24 points.
Bam Adebayo was limited to 28 minutes due to a thigh injury. He finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
In other games, it was the Sixers 123, Pistons 111; Raptors 117, Blazers 105; Pacers 116, Hornets 111; Grizzlies 123, Jazz 118; Wolves 104, Rockets 96 Thunder 120, Mavs 109; Cavs 112, Suns 98; and Hawks 112, Clippers 108.
Sixers 123, Pistons 111
James Harden delivered a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, Tyrese Maxey had 23 points and visiting Philadelphia rolled past Detroit.
Montrezl Harrell had 20 points and six rebounds and Paul Reed contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Sixers. Georges Niang tossed in 14 points and Tobias Harris added 12 for Philadelphia, which led virtually from start to finish.
Killian Hayes led the Pistons with 26 points, six assists and three steals. Isaiah Stewart had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic also scored 20 points. — Field Level Media
