Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 33 points and added nine rebounds and six assists as the host Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 123-118 in overtime on Sunday night.
Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had 27 points and six assists, while P.J. Washington added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Naji Marshall had 19 of his 20 points after the first half and Dereck Lively II had 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Klay Thompson, who went 0-for-8 from the floor in Dallas’ 123-120 win at Denver on Friday, bounced back with 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting.
The Mavericks played without reigning NBA scoring champ Luka Doncic (wrist).
Miami, which had been off since Monday, had double-doubles from Bam Adebayo (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Tyler Herro (18 points, 10 boards).
The Heat went ahead for good on Adebayo’s 3-pointer that made it 120-118 with 2:54 left in overtime. Dallas missed its final seven shots after Lively’s dunk put the Mavericks up 118-117 with 3:21 remaining.
Adebayo finished 3-of-6 from 3-point range for Miami, which shot 34.1 percent (14-of-41) from distance. Dallas hit 10 of 40 threes (25 percent) and shot 41.9 percent overall.
The Mavericks took their first lead since the opening quarter on Irving’s 3-pointer that made it 106-103 with 4:34 left in regulation. Dallas clung to a one-point edge as Irving stepped to the free throw line with 8.2 seconds left, but he made just 1 of 2 to leave the door open for the Heat.
Butler capitalized with a dunk off a Duncan Robinson feed with 4.3 seconds remaining, and the game went to overtime after Spencer Dinwiddie’s long 3-point attempt at the buzzer went in and out.
Dinwiddie finished with 7 points after shooting 1-for-12 overall, including 0-for-9 on 3-pointers.
There were three lead changes in the first quarter that ended with Miami on top 33-28. The Mavericks missed their last six shots in the quarter, allowing the Heat to close the period on a 9-0 run.
Miami shot just 28.6 percent in the second quarter – including 1-of-10 on 3-pointers — but still entered halftime leading 56-51.
Just like the second quarter (23-23), the third period was played to a draw (33-33), leaving the Heat with an 89-84 lead heading into the fourth.
Cavaliers use balanced attack to roll past Raptors
Ty Jerome came off the bench to score 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley each recorded double-doubles, and the Cleveland Cavaliers led nearly wire-to-wire in a 122-108 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Jerome has scored at least 24 points in three of his past four games. Donovan Mitchell added 26 points, Allen finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Mobley chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick led the Raptors with 18 points each. Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for Toronto, which has lost eight of its past 10 games.
With the Cavaliers leading 94-90, Mobley threw down a dunk with 0.8 seconds left in the third to ignite a 12-1 run. Jerome’s three-pointer, one of four he hit in the game, capped the surge and gave Cleveland a 106-91 lead with 9:23 left in the game.
Mitchell stepped up in the fourth, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the floor and scoring 11 points as the Cavaliers pulled away in the quarter. Issac Okoro’s shot from inside pushed the lead to 17 points — the largest of the game — with 8:30 left in the fourth.
After Toronto went ahead 2-0 — its only lead of the game — the Cavaliers responded with a 23-7 run, which was capped by Jerome’s three-pointer with 5:17 left in the first. Cleveland shot 65.2 percent from the floor in the quarter and held the Raptors to 36 percent shooting as the Cavaliers led 38-16 after one period.
Toronto responded in the second. Jamison Battle scored 11 of his 13 points in the quarter to help the Raptors trim the deficit. Ochai Abaji’s runner cut Cleveland’s lead to 50-46 with 3:20 left in the half. The Cavaliers battled back and took a 65-55 cushion into the break.
Jerome had 17 points and Allen added 15 in the first half to pace Cleveland. Dick scored 12 points for Toronto.
The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 64-42 in the paint while also hitting 16 of 41 attempts from beyond the arc in the win.
Timberwolves lose in Boston for 18th straight time
Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 26 points and eight rebounds to help the Boston Celtics extend their winning streak to five games by beating the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105 Sunday.
Brown made 7 of his 10 3-point attempts, including five in the opening quarter.
The Timberwolves are winless in their last 18 road games against the Celtics. Minnesota’s last win in Boston came in March 2005.
Minnesota was within two points, 107-105, following a Julius Randle layup with 33.6 seconds to play. The Timberwolves had the ball trailing by two with 7.1 seconds left, but Naz Reid missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have given Minnesota the win.
The Timberwolves received 20 rebounds and 10 points from Rudy Gobert. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Randle finished with 23 points.
Minnesota, which shot 42 percent from the field, has lost five of its last seven games.
Derrick White added 19 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which made 21 of its 56 3-point attempts (37.5 percent).
Brown opened the game with five 3-pointers to help the Celtics build a 15-6 advantage. Boston missed 11 consecutive shots later in the quarter and an 11-0 run allowed Minnesota to go in front 17-15. The Timberwolves led 27-24 after one quarter.
Boston led 53-43 following two Tatum free throws with 3:39 remaining in the second quarter and extended the lead to 12 later in the second, but Minnesota scored the final nine points in the quarter and Boston had a 55-52 halftime lead.
Boston scored 14 of the first 18 points in the third quarter to stretch its lead to 69-56. Boston had a 19-point lead — its largest of the game — after an Xavier Tillman layup made it a 79-60 game with 4:26 to play in the third. The Celtics led 84-73 entering the fourth.