MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 31 seconds left put Miami ahead for good, Bam Adebayo scored 30 points with a career-high six 3s and the Heat beat the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 122-120 on Saturday night.
Norman Powell scored 19 for Miami, while Pelle Larsson finished with 16. Simone Fontecchio and Myron Gardner combined for 24 points off the Miami bench.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 for Oklahoma City, which fell to 35-8 on the season. Aaron Wiggins scored 18 for the Thunder, who got 15 from Ajay Mitchell and 14 from Chet Holmgren.
The Thunder lost Jalen Williams midway through the second quarter with what the team said was soreness in his right thigh, even though the starting guard was clutching his right hamstring as he limped off the floor. He will be evaluated on Sunday, said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
Oklahoma City had a chance to tie the possession after Andrew Wiggins’ go-ahead 3, but Holmgren missed a lobbed pass from Alex Caruso and Miami controlled the rebound. The Thunder stopped the Heat’s ensuing possession, clocking out the clock with 3.0 seconds left.
Caruso made an entry to Gilgeous-Alexander, who quickly returned the ball to Caruso – whose 3-point try bounced off the backboard and rim as time went on. It was Oklahoma City’s first loss this season while scoring at least 120 points; they were 24-0 in those games on Saturday.
Miami — which shot 111 to Oklahoma City’s 77 — was without Tyler Herro (sore big toe, bruised rib) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained left knee).
Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 points in his 113th straight regular season game, putting himself 13 games shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s record.
DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson scored all 23 of his points in the first half, including the 17,000th of his career, and six Mavericks scored in double figures in a victory over Utah as Dallas completed a two-game sweep of the Jazz.
The Mavericks were without Cooper Flagg (left ankle sprain) for a second straight game and the first injury absences of his rookie season. Dallas was also missing Anthony Davis (finger) and Kyrie Irving (knee) as well as forward PJ Washington for personal reasons.
The rest of the Mavericks proved more than enough against the Jazz for a second straight game.
Thompson, coming off the bench, made a pair of 3-pointers, then hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with just under five minutes left in the first quarter to reach the plateau of 17,000 points. He shot 7 of 12 overall and 6 of 11 from 3-point range and led the Mavs in scoring for the second straight game in Flagg’s absence after scoring a season-high 26 in Thursday’s win.
Brandon Williams and Max Christie each scored 22 points, Naji Marshall added 16, Jaden Hardy added 12 and Dwight Powell scored 10 for the Mavs, who entered Saturday with wins in just two of their last five games.
ATLANTA (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 41 points, Sam Hauser led a second-quarter 3-point barrage and Boston blew away Atlanta.
The Celtics put that aside with a 52-point second-quarter outburst, extending what had been a fairly competitive opening period to an 82-51 halftime score.
Boston barely missed in the second, stopping 19 of 25 shots, including 11 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc. Hauser was perfect on his six long-range attempts in the period, and Brown bedazzled inside and outside. On a strong drive to the hoop in the final seconds of the half, he flexed his muscles in front of the State Farm Arena crowd, as if to say the Hawks had no chance of stopping him.
Brown had 29 points at halftime, combining with Hauser (21 points) to nearly outscore the entire Hawks team. The Celtics reached the triple well before the middle of the third period and increased their lead to 43 points before both teams left their benches.
Hauser tied his career high with 10 3-pointers, matching his season high of 30 points. Anfernee Simons scored 14 points, connecting on 4 of 8 from the stripe.
DETROIT (AP) — Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham each scored 16 points in a few minutes as Detroit routed short-handed Indiana.
The 43-point margin is the ninth-largest victory in Pistons franchise history.
The Pacers played without their top four scorers, with Pascal Siakam rested and Benedict Mathurin (thumb), Andrew Nembhard (back) and Obi Toppin (foot) injured. TJ McConnell, sixth on the team in scoring and second in assists, was also out with a knee issue.
Jalen Duren had 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which got points from 13 players. as the Pistons won for the fifth time in six games.
Jarace Walker led Indiana with 13 points and Tony Bradley added 12. The Pacers had won four of five.
Detroit led by 44 points in the third quarter, around the time Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff pulled his starters for the evening. Duren led the starters with 23 minutes and Cunningham and Robinson were the only others to reach 20.
NEW YORK (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points after missing a game with a sprained left ankle, and Phoenix beat a slumping New York.
Grayson Allen added 16 points and Mark Williams had 14 for the Suns, who had lost the first two games of their six-game Eastern Conference road trip, including Thursday at Detroit when they played without Booker. He shot just 7 of 18 from the field, but made 12 of 14 on free throws.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Deuce McBride each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who were playing without starters Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart due to ankle injuries. They have lost three in a row and eight of their last 10 games.
OG Anunoby added 21 points, but the Knicks committed 17 turnovers and fell to 16-5 at home.
In an ugly game with lots of diving after loose balls — Allen appeared to have seriously injured his nose in a collision on one of them — the Suns broke away from an 87-all tie when Collin Gillespie made a 3-pointer, Booker followed with a three-point play and Williams made two free throws to make it 95-87. The Knicks shot far too poorly to come back, going 1-for-10 from 3 in the fourth quarter, with Towns hearing boos after shooting a ball on a wide-open attempt on one of them.
WARRIORS 136, HORNETS 116
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — De’Anthony Melton scored 24 points as Golden State allowed eight players to reach double figures in its win over Charlotte.
The Warriors made 23 of their 52 3-point attempts and 10 Golden State players made at least one 3. Golden State has now had at least 10 players make at least one 3-pointer in three straight games, the longest streak in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The 3-point arc was introduced for the 1979-80 season.
Golden State extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 5-1 in its eight home games.
Draymond Green scored 20 points for the Warriors, who got 16 from Brandin Podziemski and 14 each from Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield.
The Hornets’ Brandon Miller scored a game-high 28 points, and Kon Knueppel had 24.
Charlotte was down by a dozen at halftime, then cut its deficit to 82-79 on a Knueppel layup midway through the third quarter.
Golden State responded with a 20-5 run capped by a Hield 3-pointer from the right corner to go up 102-84 with 2:27 left in the period.
SPURS 126, TIMBERWOLVES 123
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 39 points and nine rebounds, grabbing a critical offensive rebound in the final seconds, helping San Antonio fend off Anthony Edwards’ game-high 55 points and beat Minnesota.
Donte DiVincenzo’s 24-foot, 3-pointer put the Timberwolves up 119-118 with 1:03 left. Wembanyama responded with a 20-foot shot, then blocked Joan Beringer’s reverse layup 13 seconds later to maintain the one-point lead.
De’Aaron Fox added 25 points and 12 assists as San Antonio avoided a season sweep in its three-game set against Minnesota. Keldon Johnson added 20 points for the Spurs.
Edwards had 26 points in the fourth quarter, going 5 of 7 from 3-point range and nearly completed a repeat of Minnesota’s last game against San Antonio.
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 42 points on 15-of-24 shooting and Denver pulled away in the final minutes for a victory over Washington.
With the game tied at 110, Murray made a 3-pointer with 2:12 left to give the Nuggets the lead to stay. He then added another jumper and a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 117-110.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 30 points and Peyton Watson scored 21 as Denver, still playing without an injured Nikola Jokic (left knee bruise), won its fourth straight game and sixth time in its last seven games.
Kyshawn George had 29 points to lead the Wizards, who lost their sixth straight, including all four on this road trip. Khris Middleton and Alex Sarr each scored 16.
The Nuggets shot 53% from the floor in the game, including 40% from 3-point range.
The Nuggets made 14 3-point baskets compared to 11 for the Wizards.
TRAIL BLAZERS 132, LAKERS 116
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe had 25 points to lead Portland to a victory over Los Angeles, which was playing without leading scorer Luka Doncic.
Jerami Grant and Caleb Love each added 22 points for the Blazers, who have won seven of their last nine games.
Marcus Smart had 25 points for the Lakers, but he limped off the court midway through the fourth quarter and did not return. The extent of his injury was not known.
LeBron James added 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Drew Timme finished with 21 points coming off the bench.
Doncicwho leads the league with an average of 33.6 points per game, did not play due to left groin soreness. Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game that Doncic’s MRI was clear and he was day to day. Doncic had 39 points in the Lakers’ 135-117 loss to Charlotte on Thursday.
Los Angeles was also without center Deandre Ayton due to left knee soreness.
Portland remained without leading scorer Deni Avdija, who missed his third game with a back injury. Avdija averaged 26.1 points per game.
