Big three leads Nets past Heat

James Harden scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets pulled away in the final minutes for a 98-85 victory over the visiting Miami Heat Monday night in New York.

The Nets won for the sixth time in eight games on a night in which they shot a season-low 40 percent, but they outscored Miami 20-7 in the final seven-plus minutes.

Kevin Durant scored 20 points while shooting 6 of 21, but his 3-pointer from the right side snapped a 78-78 tie with 6:47 remaining and shortly thereafter the Nets seized control.

Harden scored 10 points as the Nets ripped off 15 straight. His first 3-pointer made it 84-80 with 4:59 remaining. His 3-pointer as the shot clock expired upped the lead to 91-80 with 3:14 and his 17-footer capped the run and gave Brooklyn a 96-80 lead with 88 seconds remaining.

Kyrie Irving added 16 points while shooting 6 of 17 as Brooklyn won despite shooting 28.9 percent (11 of 29) from 3-point range.

Bam Adebayo followed up a career-high 41-point night by leading all scorers with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Adebayo shot 10 of 19, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third and give Miami a 71-70 lead. However, he went scoreless in the final 7:45.

Goran Dragic added 21, but Miami lost for the sixth time in eight games while continuing to play without Jimmy Butler (health and safety protocols), Avery Bradley (health and safety protocols) and Tyler Herro (neck). Kendrick Nunn finished with 11, and Duncan Robinson missed 9 of 10 3-point attempts as the Heat shot 36.9 percent and 25.6 percent from 3-point range.

Miami scored the first eight points and held a 21-15 lead through the opening quarter after Brooklyn missed 17 of 21 shots, including all 10 3-point tries. Brooklyn took its first lead at 38-37 on a reverse layup by Jeff Green with 2 1/2 minutes left, but Dragic hit two 3-pointers to give Miami a 45-41 lead by halftime.

The lead changed hands 10 times in the third and Miami missed its first seven shots of the fourth until Andre Iguodala hit a layup to give them a 74-73 lead with 9 1/2 minutes left. Shortly thereafter, the Nets began dominating. — Field Level Media/Reuters