LOS ANGELES, Jan 16 — The Miami Heat got a huge performance from rookie Kendrick Nunn, and the Philadelphia 76ers made the right plays down the stretch as the two Eastern Conference juggernauts continued their dominant play at home.
Tobias Harris scored 34 points and nailed three clutch shots late in the game as the 76ers won their fifth straight game with a 117-106 victory over the Brooklyn Nets yesterday.
Harris also had 10 rebounds and scored 11 of his points in the final five minutes for the 76ers in front of a crowd of 20,100 at the Wells Fargo Centre arena.
Harris finished off Philadelphia’s 19th home win in 21 games this season by hitting two free throws with 31 seconds remaining.
“When we got together in the huddle before the fourth quarter, we said that we were going to have to hold them to under 20 points to win the game,” said Harris.
Ben Simmons scored 20 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, which shot 51.1 per cent from the floor.
Furkan Korkmaz and Josh Richardson added 15 points apiece while Al Horford contributed 14.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 26 points and eight assists for Brooklyn, who shot 43.7 per cent overall and fell to 2-9 in their past 11 games.
Nets’ Jarrett Allen added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving was held to 14 points on six-of-21 shooting in his third game back from right shoulder injury.
In Miami, Nunn scored 33 points to lead the Heat to a 106-100 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The 24-year-old rookie shot 13 of 18 from the field, including five of seven from three-point range in front of the crowd of 19,600 at the American Airlines Arena.
“He was able to get into a great rhythm,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Nunn, who was eight for eight in the first half.
Goran Dragic finished with 17 points, Bam Adebayo had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who improved to a NBA best 18-1 at home.
Jimmy Butler had 12 points and Duncan Robinson was Miami’s fifth double-figure scorer with 11 points.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points to lead the Spurs. DeRozan, who shot 12 of 14 from the field, has scored 20 or more points in 12 consecutive games.
San Antonio’s Patty Mills finished with 21 points and converted five of 12 three-point attempts. The Spurs were 10 for 33 overall from three-point range.
“It’s tough. It’s hard to win when we shoot that bad from the three,” San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge said. — AFP
