Kevin Durant scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 115-112 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to six games.
Devin Booker added 22 points and nine assists, while Jusuf Nurkic contributed 20 points and 18 rebounds. The Suns have now won seven of their first eight games this season. Grayson Allen also helped with 12 points off the bench.
For the Heat, Tyler Herro scored 28 points and had six assists, while Haywood Highsmith added 19 points. Jimmy Butler finished with 15 points, and Bam Adebayo had 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
The Heat had one last chance to tie the game in the final seconds but couldn’t get a shot off. Butler was open inside the 3-point line and attempted to step back behind the arc. He jumped but unexpectedly passed the ball to Herro, who was out of bounds as time ran out.
Phoenix shot 50 percent from the field, including 18 of 43 from 3-point range. Miami made 43.5 percent of their shots and was 13 of 34 from behind the arc.
With 10 seconds left, Herro made a layup to pull the Heat within 114-112. Booker then made one of two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining, keeping the Heat’s hopes alive.
Earlier, Booker hit a tying 17-footer with 4:31 left, and Bradley Beal followed with a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 106-103 lead. Durant then made a jumper to extend the Suns’ lead to five points with 2:53 to go.
Highsmith converted a three-point play with 33.2 seconds left, pulling the Heat within two points. Durant answered with a 21-footer to make it 114-110 with 16.1 seconds left.
The Heat led 84-69 after a basket by Herro with 3:13 left in the third quarter. But Phoenix responded with a 15-3 run to end the quarter. Booker’s three-point play at the buzzer cut the Heat’s lead to 87-84.
Phoenix took a 93-92 lead on Allen’s 3-pointer with 8:03 left. Durant then hit a three-pointer less than a minute later, giving the Suns a 98-94 lead.
The Heat went on a 6-0 run and took a 103-101 lead on a Herro jumper with 4:53 remaining.
Herro led the Heat with 14 points in the first half, and the Heat went into halftime with a 58-55 lead. Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns in the first half.
