Nets at Heat
The Miami Heat aim for their first two-game winning streak in nearly a month when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Behind 26 points from All-Star Jimmy Butler, the Heat rallied past the visiting Dallas Mavericks for a 126-118 win Friday night in the second game of their five-game homestand.
Butler, playing for just the fifth time in the last nine games, shot 8-of-14 from the floor in 33 productive minutes as Miami improved to 24-4 at home and gained sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference. "He's willing to have the courage to put himself out there and make a play for the team," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters of Butler. "He was really good tonight on both ends of the court." The Nets have lost three in a row to sink into eighth place in the East, including a 141-116 defeat at Atlanta on Friday. The Hawks shot 51.5 percent from the floor - 19-of-39 from 3-point distance - in producing the highest-scoring total for a Brooklyn opponent this season.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: YES, FS Sun
ABOUT THE NETS (26-32): Spencer Dinwiddie carried the load with 24 points and 13 rebounds Friday. Four others scored at least 16 points and Brooklyn made 18 3-pointers - its best total since Jan. 23 - but it was no match for the Hawks on the other end of the floor while getting outrebounded 52-38. "I think on our end, when they made shots we kinda put our head down a little and when they missed shots they got the offensive rebound," coach Kenny Atkinson told the media. "The part where we didn't toe the line is our physicality and our rebounding."
ABOUT THE HEAT (37-22): The backcourt of Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson combined for 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting in the victory over Dallas. Kelly Olynyk handed out nine assists less than three weeks after he recorded a career-high 11. Veteran point guard Goran Dragic contributed 16 points and five assists as Miami defeated Dallas for the sixth straight time.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Robinson has a made 3-pointer in 44 straight games, five shy of matching Rafer Alston's team record.
2. Dinwiddie's 13 assists in Friday's win came with one turnover and it was two days after he handed out three assists with six turnovers in a loss at Washington.
3. The teams split a pair of earlier meetings in Brooklyn.