Kevin Durant's shot looked absolutely fine, giving the Brooklyn Nets the lead in less than a minute.
After 1 1/2 months of misery without their Superstar, the Nets could not have asked for a better scenario than taking a potential go-forward 3-pointer in his return.
"I played with KD on the Olympic team, so sometimes his shots look like he's going in," Heat star Bam Adebayo said. "He just missed."
When their season went sideways when Durant went down, the Nets would need to start falling — and he believes they will.
"I loved it," Durant said. "I'm only going to get better, more comfortable out there."
He couldn't stop the slide of the Nets, as Adebayo had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, giving Miami a 113-107 win on Thursday night.
Tyler Harrow added 27 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat, who pulled off an impressive victory despite missing some of their top players, coming back from a hard loss in Milwaukee the night before.
Durant had 31 points in his first game since January 15 and his return from a 21-game absence with a left knee ligament sprain propelled the Nets to a 16-point lead. But Miami strengthened their defense in the second half and a late bounce was blocked by the nets
Durant had made a straight 3-point effort that would have given the Nets a go in and out with 57 seconds, and the Heat made it inside Adebayo with 35 seconds to go for a 111–107 advantage. Work done.
Traps are 32-32. They were 5–16 without Durant, falling all the way from second place to eighth in the Eastern Conference. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only The Knicks (3-16) and Rockets (3-15) were bad from Jan. 16.
Brooklyn was still without Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons on Thursday, so even Durant wasn't good enough against the leaders of the Eastern Conference. Bruce Brown scored 21 points for the Nets, playing his third consecutive game without coach Steve Nash, who was placed in health and safety protocols on Monday. Jack Vaughan ran the team again.
Caleb Martin added 22 points for Miami after scoring 12 for 15 from the Adebayo ground. Max Strauss had 21.
Back-to-back second night The Heat featured Jimmy Butler (left toe), Kyle Lowry (personal reasons) and P.J. Tucker (left knee). They fell 120-119 in Milwaukee, a game in which they held a 14-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"We had a bad taste in our mouths after we lost last night," Strauss said. "I think we should have won that too, so with the guys coming back tonight, the team we had was a special game and one that we'll remember for the rest of the season."
Durant missed 3-pointers in his first two shots, then took his last four of the first quarter for nine points and a 35-23 lead.
He still had those nine points, with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the half, then converted the three-point game, knocking down a jumper and a 3-pointer for eight points in a minute as Brooklyn took a lead of 67-60. Beach holiday.
Heat coach Eric Spoelstra turned to zone defense and the Heat took the Nets to fourth with 17 points and an 88-84 shooting 6-for-28 in the third quarter.
"Spo cheated us with that field," said former Heat guard Goran Dragic, who made his debut for the Nets. "He played really well in the field. We lost the pace of the game."
Tip-ins
Heat: Miami shot 51.9% from the field. ... Duncan Robinson missed all three shots but had seven assists.
Nets: The Nets announced in a statement that Joe Harris will have another surgery on his left ankle and will miss the rest of the season. Harris, who led the NBA in three-digit shooting percentages in two of the past three seasons, is looking to make a comeback after undergoing ankle surgery on Nov. ... Brooklyn used their 36th different starting lineup, the most in the NBA this season.
Simmons status
Simmons' back began to act while trying to build up his conditioning after not playing for Philadelphia this entire season. General Manager Sean Marks said in an interview with team broadcaster Yes Network that Simmons has been rehabilitating the injury for the past week and will move on to individual work next.
"Hopefully, by the end of next week he's getting more into the team environment and then we can really ramp up and start having him sort of shape the game and so forth," Marx said, adding There was no timetable for when Simmons could play. ,
Next
Heat: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Trap: Visit Boston on Sunday.