Suns pick up 6th straight win in thriller vs Miami Heat

On By Littum

game

The Phoenix Suns (7-1) extended their hitting streak to six by hitting Miami Heat115-112, at home Wednesday. Miami (3-4) dropped their second move.

Kevin Durant had a game-high 32 points and he had 8 rebounds, Devin Booker produced 22 points and nine assists, and Jusuf Nurkic posted his season-high 20 points and grabbed a game-high 18 boards in the win.

Miami’s top players Tyler Herro produced 28 points (game-high five 3s), Jimmy Butler got 15 with 7 rebounds, and Bam Adebayo put 12 and 12 with 6 assists.

The margin did not exceed five points by the Suns in the highly competitive fourth quarter. There were 22 lead changes and 11 ties throughout the game. The biggest lead was 15 by Miami in the third quarter.

Phoenix stormed back to cut the deficit to three, entering the fourth and going all the way. Bradley Beal (7 points, 3 assists) had his only trey with 3:52 to play and the Suns held the lead until the end despite Miami field goals and free throws that kept it close. The Heat had one final timeout on an out-of-bounds play with 4.1 seconds left, but couldn’t get a good look from the arc.

The Suns next travel to face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday at 5:30 p.m

Suns, Heat trade running in 3rd quarter

Kevin Durant scored 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter as the Suns trailed 87-84 entering the fourth.

The Heat’s Tyler Herro has 24 points as the game’s top scorer.

After Herro hit his fourth triple for Miami to take a 61-60 lead around the 11-minute mark, the Heat outscored the Suns 23-9 over the next eight minutes and built their biggest lead on the 15th.

The Suns then battled back on a 15-3 run to cut the lead to three.

Sun, heat remain close in the 2nd quarter

Phoenix trails Miami 58-55 at halftime. Nine of the 13 total lead changes occurred in the second quarter, and seven tied overall.

Suns big Jusuf Nurkic has a team-high 14 points (4-of-6 shooting, including two from deep) and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Heat’s Tyler Herro tied Nurkic’s game-high with 14 points (3-of-5 FG, three from the arc).

Both the Suns and Heat benches have contributed well with 19 and 23 points respectively.

Durant, Suns start hot in 1st quarter

Phoenix has a 26-25 lead over Miami to close the opening quarter.

Kevin Durant is the Suns’ leading scorer with seven points, plus he added three rebounds and two assists. Tyler Herro has nine points, all from 3.

The Suns got off to a hot shooting start, starting at 8-of-12 before slowing to 10-of-21. They had the largest lead at seven points, while Miami’s was three.

Starting lineups

The Suns will start Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic.

The Heat will open with Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jovic.

The Suns expect Beal to be available

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said during his pregame media availability that Beal (right elbow sprain) likely will play against the Heat. He was the only player listed on the Suns’ injury report listed as probable.

The Heat’s Jaime Jaquez (illness) and Kevin Love (conditioning) are out.