Miami Heat vs Brooklyn Nets Match Player Stats On Jan 19, 2018

The Heat were led by center Hassan Whiteside, who had 22 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Point guard Goran Dragic added 17 points.

Brooklyn cooled off a Miami team that, even with the loss, has won eight of its last 10 games overall and eight of its last 11 on the road.

This was just the second win in the past eight games for Brooklyn, which also got 15 points from starting point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, including eight points in the final 3:13.

The Nets got strong bench play from Caris LeVert and Joe Harris, each with 12 points.

The other big news for the Nets was the return of point guard and leading scorer D'Angelo Russell, who came off the bench in the first quarter for his first game action since Nov. 11.

Russell, who had surgery on his left knee and missed 32 games, had one point and two assists in 14 minutes on Friday. Prior to this game, he was averaging 20.9 points and 5.7 assists. The Nets went 11-21 without Russell.

As for Heat injuries, shooting guard Tyler Johnson missed his second straight game due to an injured left ankle. He was joined on the sidelines by starting shooting guard Dion Waiters, who is out for the season due to surgery on his left ankle.

The game was close early as there were four lead changes and seven tie scores in the first quarter. Miami led 24-21, thanks in large part to Whiteside's 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Miami stretched its lead to 53-43 at halftime. Kelly Olynyk gave Miami a boost with 10 first-half points, making all five of his shots - two 3-pointers, one two-pointer and two free throws. Olynyk's play allowed Miami to overcome a scoreless first half by starting forward James Johnson, his third such opening 24 minutes in a row.

Brooklyn got back into the game by closing the third quarter on a 14-0 run, cutting Miami's lead to 69-67.The Heat went scoreless for 6:09.

LeVert's 3-pointer with 8:57 left in the fourth quarter gave Brooklyn a 79-77 advantage -- its first lead since the first quarter -- and the Nets went on from there to pull off the upset.

--Field Level Media