AP/MIAMI — Armoni Brooks, Lonnie Walker IV, and Mikal Bridges combined for 17 points apiece, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Miami Heat 109-105 on Wednesday night.
Cam Thomas scored 13 points for the Nets, while Dorian Finney-Smith scored all 15 of his points for Brooklyn in the second half.
Miami, which has lost four consecutive games to collapse to 1-4, has had its worst five-game start since starting 0–5 in the 2007–08 campaign. Tyler Herro scored 30 points for the Dolphins.
Jimmy Butler scored 20 points for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo scored 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for Miami.
Miami’s bench was outscored 50–26 by Brooklyn’s.
With 4:30 remaining in the third quarter, Miami had a 16-point lead at the half and was up 75–60. Over the following 12 minutes, the Nets outscored Miami 38-17. Trendon Watford’s 3-pointer with 8:36 left gave Brooklyn its first lead since 5-2, and Walker’s three-pointer extended the margin to 98-92.
Nor would the Heat ever lead again. They closed the gap to one and twice attempted game-winning 3-pointers while trailing by two, but Brooklyn held firm.
After 396 regular-season games and counting, Bridges has never missed a game in his NBA career. However, he didn’t start the second half on the court or on the bench area. Shortly after the third quarter began, he came out, sat down, and checked in a few minutes later.
When the Heat played on Erik Spoelstra’s birthday while he was head coach, they lost 6-3. Miami has won its previous five birthday matches; its lone defeat occurred in 2013 at Brooklyn.
With Kevin Love out due to a bruised left shoulder and Adebayo returning after missing Monday’s loss at Milwaukee, Miami played their fourth starting lineup in as many games. Love was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.
After Miami’s squad missed more games than any other in the league the previous season, the team’s early-season injury history is beginning to become a cause of irritation.
Spoelstra declared, “I’m not going to talk about anybody’s injuries anymore.” “All they need to do is concentrate on being available if someone is hurt or unavailable. That is all. Furthermore, I’m not discussing any injuries or who is in and who is out.