NEW YORK — Mario Chalmers scored 22 points, Chris Bosh ended his shooting slump and added 15 points and nine rebounds, and the Miami Heat snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 95-83 on Monday night.
With Dwyane Wade out for a third straight game due to a strained left hamstring, Chalmers remained in the starting lineup for the second consecutive night and keyed the finishing spurt for the Heat. He converted a three-point play, added another free throw and then set up Bosh for a 3-pointer that turned a four-point lead into a 91-80 advantage with 1:23 left.
Bosh finished 5 for 11 after shooting 12 for 49 during the losing streak, including 2 for 17 in a loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for the Nets, who were held to their lowest point total of the season and lost their fourth straight.
Deron Williams added 14 but shot 4 of 13.
With starter Luol Deng also out with a sprained right wrist, the Heat put Danny Granger in the lineup after he hadn’t played a minute yet during the regular season. He scored four points in 20 minutes.
But Norris Cole had 12, Shabazz Napier 11 and James Ennis 10 as the Heat avoided what would have been their first four-game skid since Feb. 27 to March 8, 2011.
And they ended Miami’s four-game skid against Brooklyn after the Nets swept last season’s series that included three one-point victories and another that went to double-overtime. Miami was better when it mattered most, taking their Eastern Conference semifinal series in five games.
Both teams have changed plenty since, with LeBron James leaving Miami, and Paul Pierce and coach Jason Kidd gone from the Nets. Chalmers is still around, and he went 11 for 13 from the free throw line and added five assists.
The Heat couldn’t reach 20 points in either of the first two quarters and the Nets took a 43-38 lead into halftime. Miami then surged ahead with an 11-0 run midway through the third and led 70-64 going to the final 12 minutes.
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TIP-INS
Heat: Miami completed its fourth back-to-back set, with one more scheduled this month. The Heat hadn’t played in five back-to-back sets in November since 2003-04, Wade’s rookie season. … Deng was hurt Sunday when he landed on his wrist. Coach Erik Spoelstra said the forward got treatment all day in hopes of playing.
Nets: Kidd will be back at Barclays Center on Wednesday when the Nets host Milwaukee. He led them to a 44-38 record in his lone season, but the Nets arranged a trade with the Bucks to let Kidd out of his contract after he sought more power within the organization.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Nets: Host Milwaukee on Wednesday.
from Sportsnet.ca http://ift.tt/1uHUkLa
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