Heat beat Nets for 13th straight win
NEW YORK -- Reserve James Johnson scored a season-high 26 points and the Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 13 games with a 108-99 comeback victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Johnson came within one point of his career high set Feb. 21, 2015, at Houston by shooting 11 of 17 from the floor. He tied a career high for field goals and added eight rebounds in a season-high 35 minutes.
Goran Dragic added 21 points for Miami, which outscored the Nets 50-30 over the final 19:24. Miami's Tyler Johnson contributed 18 points against the team that signed him to an offer sheet last summer.
Brook Lopez scored 30 points and added eight rebounds for the Nets. Those totals were not enough as Brooklyn extended its losing streak to a season-high 12 games and dropped its 14th straight home game since Dec. 26.
The Nets committed 21 turnovers, marking the ninth time they had at least 20 giveaways.
Miami picked up its third win over the Nets during the streak, and the Heat overcame a double-digit deficit for the second straight time in Brooklyn. Two weeks after rallying from 18 down, the Heat came back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter in gradual fashion much to the delight of their many fans in the crowd.
Miami tied the game at 72 with a minute remaining when Tyler Johnson beat Justin Hamilton for an offensive rebound and subsequent putback. The Heat took their first lead since the first quarter when Tyler Johnson sank two free throws.
The Nets were within 85-84 after Lopez split a pair at the line with 7:12 remaining. Brooklyn then committed turnovers on three straight possessions, and Miami went up 91-84 on a put-back by Rodney McGruder with 5:41 remaining.
Brooklyn hung around for the rest of the game, getting within five on three occasions.
The Heat finally finished it off after Dragic drove by rookie Caris LeVert and flipped in a short hook shot over Bojan Bogdanovic with 43.8 seconds remaining for a 104-97 lead.