Another victory for Brooklyn. The Nets must now wait for positive Kevin Durant news.
In a game where Kevin Durant left in the third quarter due to a right knee injury, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday night thanks to Royce O’Neale’s putback with 3 points and 2 seconds remaining.
Tomorrow he will be examined for right knee, and hopefully, by then, I will know more, said Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. “Imaging will most likely be used to ensure everything is okay.”
After the impressive finish, Durant was waiting for his teammates, giving them all fist bumps as they entered the locker room. Even though Kyrie Irving claimed to have asked Durant how he was doing, Vaughn contended that he did not do so.
With 36:06 remaining in the third quarter, Durant left the game shortly after appearing injured during a Miami’s Jimmy Butler drive. Following Butler, who had just raced to the hoop, landed into Durant with his back to him; Durant grabbed at his right knee.
Because anything can happen in those situations when someone isn’t paying attention, Irving said that those plays are frightful. Because his body was able to save him from something worse, I’m thankful for all the time he spent in the weight room to prepare his body. “
In the second half, Durant took two significant hits. With 7:57 remaining in the third, he also grabbed at his knee after being assessed an offensive foul for colliding with Miami’s Kyle Lowry during a drive.
Vaughn remarked, “You never want to see him go down like that. For that matter, any player. Although it was a reasonably tricky collision, our group must be commended for persevering. “
The Nets, who have won 18 of their last 20 games after winning just nine of their first 20, were led by Irving’s 29 points. Before leaving, Durant scored 17 points, and Seth Curry added 14 for Brooklyn.
Nic Claxton led the Nets with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Miami received 24 from Tyler Herro and added 26 from Butler. On the game’s final play, Butler missed a contested shot at the rim, and Herro was shaken up before limping off – replays suggest he may have slipped.
After the team unsuccessfully argued for a foul, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated, “Jimmy made the absolute right play.”
According to Spoelstra, Herro appeared to be fine after the game, but the team won’t know until Monday. Miami’s Max Strus and Haywood Highsmith each scored 10 points, while Bam Adebayo, limited in the second half due to a right-hand contusion for which X-rays were negative, scored 10.
With Irving leading the Nets with 24 points at the half, Brooklyn had a 66-64 advantage over Miami. Both teams shot well at the half—54 percent for Miami and 57 percent for Brooklyn.
Then, in the third, the defenses appeared.
The Heat outscored the Nets 18-13 in the third quarter, out-shooting Miami 25 percent to take a three-point lead into the fourth.
Miami had a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and went up 101-100 after Butler made back-to-back baskets late in the game. However, the Heat could not get the rebound after Irving missed a 30-footer with seconds remaining. O’Neale grabbed the rebound and scored the winning basket.
O’Neale remarked, “I was simply there to finish it.”