In a pivotal third quarter in Miami, the Brooklyn Nets outscored the Heat 120-100, which moved them back to sixth in the East.
Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, Cam Johnson 23 and Spencer Dinwiddie added 15 for Brooklyn, which snapped a five-game losing streak to temporarily put itself in position to go straight to the playoffs.
Max Strus had 23 points off the bench for Miami, but didn’t score in the second half. Tyler Herro scored 23, but the Heat had no answer as the Nets began to warm up late in the second quarter.
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Down by double digits early, the Nets cut the deficit to four at halftime and held Miami to 31 second-half points.
His 31-6 scoring run in the third quarter pushed the Nets to a 104-87 lead going into the fourth period.
“We took a hit from them early on the road, we didn’t flinch, which was good,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “That third quarter was pretty impressive on both ends of the floor.”
For his part, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his team’s problems began long before the third quarter.
“We just got categorically outclassed tonight,” Spoelstra concluded.
Rest of the day
- Pacers 130 – 143 Hawks
- Nuggets 129 – 106 Bucks
- 76ers 105 – 125 Suns
- Jazz 113 – 121 Kings
- Pelicans 131 – 110 Clippers
