Miami (AP) – With 18 of his 37 points for the season coming in the third quarter and 23 points in total from Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat defeated the Utah Jazz 126-120 on Saturday night to win their tenth straight game.
For Miami, Terry Rozier scored 14 points and Caleb Martin finished with 18. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Duncan Robinson each had twelve.
For Utah, Keyonte George scored 31 points, while Lauri Markkanen contributed 25. For the Jazz, Collin Sexton and John Collins both ended with 18 points, while Taylor Hendricks pulled down 13 rebounds.
This season, Butler had scored 36 points on two separate occasions. His current run of at least one 3-pointer and one steal, which he extended to 13 games this season, is the fourth-longest in the NBA this season and ties Tim Hardaway for the second-longest in Heat history. He was 3 for 3 on three-pointers and had a steal. In March of 2004, Rafer Alston had a 15-game Miami run.
Additionally, it was the Heat’s sixth straight victory over Utah in Miami, with each victory coming by a narrow margin.
NEW YORK (AP) – For the second consecutive game, Brooklyn easily defeated Atlanta thanks to 38 points from Mikal Bridges.
With 23 points from Cam Johnson, the Nets moved to 3-3 under interim coach Kevin Ollie, within two games of the Hawks for the final play-in slot in the play-in tournament and 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn, which has won three straight games, was led by Nic Claxton with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Dennis Schroder with 14 points and eight assists. Among them was a 124-97 triumph over the Hawks on Thursday evening.
For the Hawks, Dejounte Murray finished with 20 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds. Clint Capela scored 11 points, Saddiq Bey scored 23, and 10 rebounds.
