Miami’s Jimmy Butler dunks during the second half of a 112-9 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday in Miami. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
MIAMI — Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards 112-97 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.
The teams will meet again Saturday night in Washington.
Butler shot 11 of 19 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws in his second consecutive outing over 30 points.
Bam Adebayo added 20 points, Gabe Vincent had 18 points and P.J. Tucker 15. The Heat improved to 11-5.
Bradley Beal scored 30 points for Washington, and Kyle Kuzma finished with 19. The Wizards have lost two straight to drop to 10-5.
The Heat made 7 of 8 3-pointers in the third quarter to take control. Duncan Robinson’s 3-pointer with 3:59 remaining in the quarter gave Miami its largest lead at 75-57. The double-digit result was the ninth in the Heat’s 11 wins.
Guard Tyler Herro, Miami’s second-leader scorer, sat out because of a bruised right wrist. The Wizards rested third-leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie.
WARRIORS 104, CAVALIERS 89: Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three straight 3-pointers, and NBA-leading Golden State overcame a 13-point deficit to win at Cleveland.
Curry made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, in the final quarter to help Golden State outscore the Cavaliers 36-8. The Warriors ran off the first 17 points of the quarter to seize an 85-81 advantage, holding Cleveland to 12 consecutive empty possessions.
Nemanja Bjelica added 14 points, Andrew Wiggins scored 12 and Draymond Green had four points and 14 rebounds for Golden State. The Warriors improved to 13-2. They have won nine straight over the Cavaliers and are 17-1 against them since January 2017.
TIMBERWOLVES 115, SPURS 90: Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota win at home.
D’Angelo Russell added 22 points, and Malik Beasley hit five of Minnesota’s season-high 21 3-pointers for all 15 of his points.
Devin Vassell scored 18 points for San Antonio, and Larry Walker IV and Keldon Johnson each had 12. The Spurs have lost four in a row.
GRIZZLIES 120, CLIPPERS 108: Ja Morant scored 17 of his 28-points in a third-quarter surge for Memphis against visiting Los Angeles.
Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points each, and Desmond Bane had 16. Brandon Clarke finished with 14 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter.
Paul George led the Clippers with 23 points and six assists.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
