Kevin Durant scored 31 points as the Brooklyn Nets never trailed and survived multiple fourth-quarter comeback attempts by the Miami Heat and a career-high 41-point night by Bam Adebayo in a 128-124 victory Saturday night in New York.
Kyrie Irving added 18 of his 28 points in the fourth, including 10 in the final 2:41. Joe Harris added 23 and tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers. James Harden did not make a basket until the fourth and finished with 12 points and 11 assists as Brooklyn shot 53.7 percent, tied a season best with 19 3-pointers, and collected a season-high 34 assists.
Adebayo surpassed his previous career high of 30 points on Dec. 10, 2019 and made 14 of 20 shots but did not hit a basket in the final 5 1/2 minutes. Goran Dragic added 19 while Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn finished with 18 apiece as the Heat shot 70 percent in the fourth and 47.2 percent overall.
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The Nets rebounded from two losses in Cleveland by starting off fast, leading by as many as 18 before surviving Miami’s comebacks in the fourth.
After taking a 96-82 lead into the fourth, the Nets allowed Miami to score the first 13 points and get within 96-95 on a layup by Robinson with 9:27 remaining. The lead was down to 109-106 on Adebayo’s fadeaway with 5:29 left, and it was 111-110 on a 3-pointer by Nunn with 3:23 remaining and 113-112 on a bank shot by Dragic with 1:55 remaining.
The Nets pushed their lead to 120-112 on a layup by Irving with 51 seconds left, but Miami was within 125-123 on three free throws by Robinson with 8.4 seconds left. Irving split a pair at the line with seven seconds left, Adebayo split a pair at the line with 3.3 seconds remaining and Harden made two free throws with 2.7 ticks left for a 128-124 lead.
After Miami called a timeout, the game ended when Dragic’s 3-point try was well short, as the Nets did not guard him to prevent a potential four-point play.
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–Field Level Media