Brooklyn got another win. Now the Nets have to hope for good news on Kevin Durant.
Royce O바카라Neale바카라s putback with 3.2 seconds left put Brooklyn to stay, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday night in a game where Durant left in the third quarter with a right knee injury.
바카라Right knee, he바카라ll get evaluated tomorrow and then hopefully I바카라ll have some more info,바카라 Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. 바카라Most likely it will include imaging, just to make sure we바카라re good.바카라
Durant was awaiting his teammates after the big finish, giving them all fist bumps as they walked into the locker room. Vaughn said he did not ask Durant how he was feeling, though Kyrie Irving said his friend was in good spirits.
Durant left with 36.6 seconds left in the third quarter, not long after he appeared to get hurt on a drive by Miami바카라s Jimmy Butler. Durant grabbed at his right knee after Butler, who had just driven to the basket, landed with his back to Durant and fell into him.
바카라Those plays are scary, because when someone바카라s not looking what바카라s going on, anything can happen in those moments,바카라 Irving said. 바카라So I바카라m grateful for all that time he바카라s put in the weight room putting his body in a great position, and his body was able to save him from something worse.바카라
Durant took two big hits in the second half. He also grabbed at the knee after being called for an offensive foul on a drive where he collided with Miami바카라s Kyle Lowry with 7:57 left in the third.
바카라You never want to see him go down like that,바카라 Vaughn said. 바카라Any player, for that matter. Pretty hard collision, but you바카라ve got to give our group credit for staying with it.바카라
Irving scored 29 to lead the Nets, who have won 18 of their last 20 바카라 after winning only nine of their first 20 games. Durant had 17 before departing and Seth Curry scored 14 for Brooklyn.
Nic Claxton had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.
Butler scored 26 for Miami, which got 24 from Tyler Herro. Butler missed a contested shot at the rim on the game바카라s final play, and Herro was shaken up on it as well before limping off 바카라 replays showing he may have slipped.
바카라Jimmy made the absolute right play,바카라 Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, after the team argued for a foul to no avail.
Spoelstra said Herro indicated postgame that he was fine, but the team will know more Monday. Bam Adebayo was limited in the second half because of a right hand contusion 바카라 X-rays were negative 바카라 and scored 10 for Miami, as did Max Strus and Haywood Highsmith.
Brooklyn led 66-64 at the half, with Irving leading the Nets with 24 and the teams both shooting well 바카라 54% for Miami, 57% for Brooklyn.
And then in the third, the defenses showed up.
Brooklyn shot 28% in the quarter, Miami 25%, and the Heat outscored the Nets 18-13 in the period to take a three-point lead into the fourth.
Miami led by as many as nine in the final quarter, went up 101-100 on back-to-back baskets by Butler late, but couldn바카라t corral the rebound on Irving바카라s missed 30-footer in the final seconds. O바카라Neale got the rebound and turned it into the eventual winner.
바카라I was just right there to finish it,바카라 O바카라Neale said.
TIP-INS
Nets: Claxton blocked three shots and has at least three blocks in six consecutive games. Only the Lakers바카라 Anthony Davis has done that this season, and no Nets player has done that since Shawn Bradley had two separate 11-game streaks in 1996.
Heat: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance, as was DJ Khaled. ... Caleb Martin (left quadriceps strain) was out. ... Lowry and Victor Oladipo each were 2 for 10. ... Miami is 21-20 at the season바카라s midway point.
DURANT MILESTONE
Durant needed just two points to pass Dominique Wilkins (26,668) for 14th on the NBA바카라s career scoring list. With 17 on Sunday, Durant is up to 26,684.
He바카라s 26 points away from No. 13 Oscar Robertson (26,710).
PLAYOFFS
The Miami Dolphins snapped a five-game losing streak and will play Buffalo in the NFL wild-card round this weekend. If the Heat make the playoffs this season, it바카라ll mark the first time since 2009 that Miami바카라s NBA and NFL teams play postseason games in the same year.
바카라It바카라s been great for the city,바카라 said Spoelstra, who spent a day with the Dolphins during their training camp. 바카라I just enjoy seeing teams come together, particularly when there is adversity and figuring some things out.바카라
UP NEXT
Nets: Host Boston on Thursday.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
