MIAMI (AP) 鈥� Bam Adebayo had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler added 26 points and the Miami Heat held off the Los Angeles Clippers 115-110 on Thursday night.
Tyler Herro scored 19 and Caleb Martin finished with 17 for the Heat. Butler scored Miami鈥檚 final eight points.
Paul George finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers, who went 0-2 on their Florida swing after falling in overtime at Orlando on Wednesday.
Reggie Jackson scored 20 for the Clippers, while Nic Batum and Marcus Morris Sr. each added 11.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard 鈥� he鈥檚 now missed 20 of 27 games this season 鈥� on the second night of a back-to-back, part of the ongoing plan for managing his right knee issues. For Miami, starting point guard Kyle Lowry was out for the first time this season, given a game off for rest, and backup point guard Gabe Vincent (left knee) remained sidelined.
NUGGETS 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 120
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) 鈥� Jamal Murray鈥檚 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining lifted Denver to a thrilling victory over Portland.
Damian Lillard had 40 points for the Trail Blazers, including a 3-pointer that gave them a one-point lead with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Murray then answered with his 3 from the left side for the last of the game鈥檚 20 lead changes.
Nikola Jokic had 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Denver, which rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to snap a three-game losing streak.
Lillard finished with 12 assists and nine 3-pointers. Jusuf Nurkic had 21 points and nine rebounds, but Anfernee Simons was 3 for 12, missing all six attempts behind the arc.
SPURS 118, ROCKETS 109
SAN ANTONIO (AP) 鈥� Keldon Johnson scored 32 points and San Antonio snapped an 11-game losing streak by beating Houston.
Johnson made his first nine shots and his first three 3-pointers in helping San Antonio win for the first time since Nov. 11.
Tre Jones had a career-high 26 points and reserves Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson added 12 points apiece.
Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. scored 23 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun added 16 points and 11 rebounds, with all five Rockets starters scoring in double figures.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich returned after missing the previous two games with what the team termed a 鈥渕inor medical procedure.鈥�
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The Associated Press
