Bam Adebayo scored 13 consecutive Heat points late in the fourth quarter, leading host Miami to a 127-121 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
With the score tied 118-118 and 48.3 seconds left, Miami’s Norman Powell made a corner 3-pointer for a lead that the Heat never relinquished.
Adebayo scored a game-high 29 points and added nine rebounds for the Heat, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Powell, in his first game back from missing a contest due to a back injury, put up 27 points. Tyler Herro added 23 points, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. logged 16 points and a team-high eight assists off the bench.
The Suns, who had their three-game win streak broken, got 25 points each from Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks. Devin Booker contributed 24 points, nine rebounds and a game-high nine assists, and Mark Williams added 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Booker, a four-time All-Star, limped off the court due to an apparent left foot injury with 55 seconds left in the third quarter. However, he returned with 9:11 left in the fourth.
Heat point guard Davion Mitchell, who leads the team in assists, sustained a shoulder contusion early in the third quarter and did not return. He finished with nine points and six assists.
Miami, led by 10 points from Adebayo, had a 36-28 advantage after one quarter. The Heat posted a 22-10 edge in paint points during the period, shooting 64% from the floor as compared to 37% for Phoenix.
The Heat extended their lead to 71-54 by halftime. In the second quarter, Miami got 10 points from Powell and shot 50% from the floor. Phoenix shot 42.9% overall and just 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
Miami stretched its advantage to 74-54 early in the third quarter, but Phoenix rallied to tie the score 92-92 on Oso Ighodaro’s put-back and free throw with 0.1 seconds left in the frame.
Phoenix took its first lead of the game, 101-99, on Collin Gillespie’s 3-pointer with 9:13 left in the fourth.
A few minutes later, Booker and Jaquez were issued technical fouls for some mutual shoving.
In the final minute, and after Powell’s go-ahead shot, Allen stepped out of bounds for a turnover, and he later missed a 3-point attempt. Brooks was then called for an offensive foul, and that helped seal Miami’s win.
–Field Level Media
