Heat rely on defence to beat Raptors 84-76

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This article was published 02/01/2020 (2405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MIAMI – Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 14 rebounds and the Miami Heat put together their best defensive performance of the season in an 84-76 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.

Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic each scored 13 points for Miami. The Heat are 2-0 against the Raptors this season and improved to 9-0 after a loss. Miami and Milwaukee are the only teams to not lose consecutive games this season.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 10 points and Jimmy Butler finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Miami.

Serge Ibaka had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto. Kyle Lowry scored 15 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 13 and OG Anunoby had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors shot only 31.5% and were 6 for 42 from 3-point range.

MAVERICKS 123, NETS 111

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, helping Dallas beat Brooklyn.

Seth Curry finished with 25 points while keeping the Mavericks even with the Nets with Doncic sitting late in the third quarter and Nos. 2 and 3 scorers Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. out with injuries.

Maxi Kleber scored a season-high 18 points to help the Mavericks avoid their first three-game losing streak in the opener of a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.

Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn with 19 points.

NUGGETS 124, PACERS 116

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored a career-high 25 points and Jamal Murray added 22 in Denver’s victory over Indiana.

The Nuggets have won three of four and earned this one despite having Nikola Jokic in serious foul trouble all night. Jokic finished with 22 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and seven rebounds.

Jeremy Lamb had a season-high 30 points for the Pacers.

CLIPPERS 126, PISTONS 112

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Montrezl Harrell scored 23 points and Los Angeles survived without Paul George in the second half to beat Detroit, winning consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 13.

George didn’t return after halftime because of left hamstring tightness. He finished with 12 points.

Lou Williams added 22 points and Kawhi Leonard had 18 in three quarters for the Clippers, who had alternated wins and losses for nearly three weeks.

Bruce Brown led nine Pistons in double figures with 15 points. Andre Drummond added 10 points and 12 rebounds. They’ve lost four in a row on the road and eight of nine overall.

THUNDER 109, SPURS 103

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points and Oklahoma City overcame 30 points by DeMar DeRozan to beat the Spurs, snapping a nine-game skid in San Antonio.

Chris Paul had 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter to help Oklahoma City win its fourth straight. The Thunder had five players score at least 13 points, including 19 from Dennis Schroder.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points for San Antonio.

TIMBERWOLVES 99, WARRIORS 84

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Shabazz Napier and Robert Covington each scored 20 points to help Minnesota beat Golden State in a matchup of injury-ravaged teams.

Naz Reid added 13 points, Kelan Martin had 12 and Minnesota held Golden State to the lowest points total by an opponent this season. Glen Robinson III scored 16 points for the Warriors.

Minnesota was missing Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, while Golden State was without D’Angelo Russell, along with long-absent stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

JAZZ 102, BULLS 98

CHICAGO (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Utah held off Chicago.

The Jazz went on a 24-4 run in the third quarter to grab a nine-point lead and came away with their 10th win in 12 games after Chicago tied it in the closing minutes.

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert each scored 17 points for Utah.

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points.

HORNETS 109, CAVALIERS 106

CLEVELAND (AP) — Devonte’ Graham hit a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to break a tie and cap Charlotte’s late rally against Cleveland.

Graham’s shot from the top of the key gave Charlotte a 106-103 lead. The Hornets came back from a nine-point deficit with five minutes to play to end a six-game losing streak.

Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 30 points. Graham had 16 — all in the second half. Collin Sexton scored 21 points for Cleveland, and Kevin Love had 18.

KINGS 128, GRIZZLIES 123

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 10 of his 27 points in the final five minutes and Sacramento overcame a 20-point deficit in the first half to beat Memphis, ending an eight-game losing streak.

Buddy Hield had 26 points and seven rebounds to help the Kings win for the first time since beating Golden State on Dec. 15. Richaun Holmes added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 16 points.

The Kings allowed 42 points in the first quarter and 37 in the third but held the Grizzlies to 13 through the first 10 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, one of the best defensive stretches of the season by coach Luke Walton’s team.

Ja Morant, the Western Conference rookie of the month for December, had 23 points and seven assists for Memphis. Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds.