LOS ANGELES — Goran Dragic scored 22 points off the bench, and Dwyane Wade had a big basket and a steal in the final minutes as the visiting Miami Heat outlasted San Antonio 110-105 on Wednesday to snap Spurs’ nine-game winning streak.
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and by 13 with 9:50 to play, San Antonio charged back, pulling within 106-103 on a technical-foul free throw by LaMarcus Aldridge with 2:05 remaining.
However, the Spurs came up empty on the ensuing possession, and Wade hit a bank shot to build the Heat’s lead back to five points.
With Miami on top 108-105, Wade stole the ball from DeRozan with 9.1 seconds left. Kelly Olynyk then converted a pair of free throws to cement the win for the Heat.
Dion Waiters scored 18 points for the Heat. Josh Richardson had 15, James Johnson added 13, Hassan Whiteside tallied 12 and Wade had 11 for Miami, which has won eight of its past 10 games. Bam Adebayo took 15 rebounds in the victory for the Heat.
Miami (35-36) holds a 1 1/2-game lead on the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli and Aldridge scored 17 points each for the Spurs. DeRozan added 16 points and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 15 points and Davis Bertans contributed 10 for San Antonio.
The Heat dominated the first half, leading for all but a 28-second span in the second period and by 17 points in the final seconds before settling for a 62-47 advantage at halftime.
The Heat pushed their advantage to as many as 18 points in the third quarter before San Antonio made a run, clawing within nine points on a 3-pointer from Bryn Forbes with 4.1 seconds left.
But the Spurs didn’t pressure Wade in the backcourt, and he canned a shot from beyond half-court at the buzzer to grant Miami a 90-78 advantage heading to the final quarter.
Wade was playing his final regular-season game in San Antonio. He was given signed Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili jerseys by Spurs future hall-of-fame coach Gregg Popovich before the game as a retirement present.
RAPTORS TOP THUNDER IN OT
Pascal Siakam scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 123-114 overtime win against the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
The Raptors dominated overtime, outscoring the Thunder 13-4 after letting a 20-point, second-half lead slip away.
Oklahoma City didn’t score in the extra period until 31.5 seconds remained.
Kawhi Leonard scored five of his 22 points in overtime, and Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points for the Raptors.
Toronto was firmly in control for much of the game until a late push by the Thunder cut the lead to two on Paul George’s 3-pointer with 40.9 seconds left.
That capped a run of nine straight Oklahoma City points by George to put the Thunder back in the game, but he wasn’t around for the end after picking up his sixth foul on the ensuing possession.
However, Oklahoma City forced a stop, and then Russell Westbrook gathered a head of steam and finished with a layup to tie the game with less than five seconds remaining.
The Thunder had the chance to win in regulation after Dennis Schroder drew a charge as Siakam for going for the potential game-winning shot.
But Westbrook’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short to send the game to overtime.
Westbrook, returning from a one-game suspension and coming off a two-for-16 shooting performance Saturday in a loss to the Golden State Warriors, helped lift the Thunder as George mostly struggled until his late push. — Reuters
