Kevin Durant scored a game-high 39 points as the NBA champion Golden State Warriors rallied from an early 19-point deficit to edge the Miami Heat 120-118 on Sunday.
DeMarcus Cousins sank two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to play to help the Warriors hold off the Heat, who fell eight behind in the fourth quarter but took a 118-115 lead with 51.5 seconds left after back-to-back steals and baskets from Josh Richardson and Dwyane Wade.
Durant responded with his first three-pointer of the contest – after six misses from beyond the arc – to tie the game and Cousins made his free throws to seal the Warriors’ 15th win in their last 16 games.
“We knew it was going to be a game they came out and played hard on both ends of the court,” Durant said.
“They came out and hit us in the mouth early, but I like how we withstood the storm and kept fighting.”
Durant said there was no mystery to the Warriors’ comeback, fuelled by a 12-0 scoring run early in the third quarter.
“We were just locked in, playing our brand,” he said. “We moved the ball, we made shots after a while – it took us a while to wake up on Sunday.”
Klay Thompson scored 29 points for the Warriors and Stephen Curry, after a rocky first quarter with just three points, finished with 25.
Josh Richardson led the Heat with 37 points. Veteran Dwyane Wade added 10 off the bench, two days after a frighting fall in Sacramento.
“He’s built like Captain America,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Joel Embiid scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to power the Philadelphia 76ers over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 143-120 in a matchup of high-profile NBA clubs.
MAGIC 124, HAWKS 108
ATLANTA (AP) — All-Star Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 2 rebounds, leading Orlando past Atlanta,
Alex Len led the Hawks with 16 points, despite picking up four fouls in the first half.
