Washington, March 4 (BUS): Kevin Durant’s shot looked good throughout, which would have given the Brooklyn Nets the lead with less than a minute left.
After a month and a half of misery without their star, the curlers couldn’t have asked for a better scenario than Durant taking the three potential light signal in his comeback.
He couldn’t stop the Nets’ slide, as Adebayo scored 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead Miami to a 113-107 victory Thursday night, according to the Associated Press.
Tyler Hero added 27 points for the Eastern Heat, who recovered from a tough loss in Milwaukee the night before with a thrilling victory despite the absence of some of their notable players.
Durant scored 31 points in his first game since Jan. 15 and came back from 21 games with a sprained left knee ligament, inspiring the Nets to lead by 16 points. But Miami tightened its defense in the second half and repelled a late push into the net.
Durant had a 3-point attempt from the spot that would have given the netting the lead in and out with 57 seconds left, and the Heat worked on the inside to Adebayo on the possession that followed for a 111-107 advantage with 35 seconds left.
Curling 32-32. They were 5-16 Don Durant, dropping all the way from second in the Eastern Conference to eighth. Only the Knicks (3-16) and the Rockets (3-15) have been worse since Jan. 16, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Brooklyn was still without Kerry Irving and Ben Simmons on Thursday, so even Durant wasn’t enough against Eastern Conference leaders. Bruce Brown scored 21 points for the Nets, who played their third straight game without coach Steve Nash, who was put into health and safety protocols on Monday. Jack Vaughn runs the team again.
Adebayo was 12 to 15 from the field and Caleb Martin added 22 points for Miami. Max Strauss was 21.
The Heat were without Jimmy Butler (left toe), Kyle Lowry (for personal reasons) and BJ Tucker (left knee) on night two of a back-to-back game. They fell 120-119 in Milwaukee, a game they had a 14-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Durant missed 3-pointers on his first two shots, then made four throws in the first quarter for a nine-point lead and a 35-23 lead.
He still had those nine points with less than two-and-a-half minutes left in the half, then converted a three-point play, dropping a jump and three eight-pointers in one minute as Brooklyn advanced 67-60 to a halt.
Heat coach Eric Spoelstra turned to the defense of the area and the Heat Bents grabbed 17 points and shot 6 to 28 in the third quarter, and 88-84 advanced to the fourth.
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