Miami @ Brooklyn preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 10, 2019 ) Miami 94, Brooklyn 113

The Brooklyn Nets are doing just fine without Kyrie Irving in the lineup, and they will go for a seventh victory in nine games without their All-Star guard when the Miami Heat pay a visit Sunday afternoon. Irving (shoulder) is on the mend and could be back as early as next week, but emerging star Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 32 points in Friday’s 112-107 victory over Boston in the second of a home-and-home set.

“This stretch has really helped us,” Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told the New York Post. “Moments like these really make your team stronger. … I do feel good momentum. I feel like the group’s coming together from a spiritual, chemistry standpoint. I think this is important. Can you beat a really, really good team when you’re shorthanded?” The Nets, who split four contests in the series in 2018-19, are 6-3 at the Barclays Center while the Heat stand 5-5 on the road after winning their eighth straight home game to open the season Friday with a 122-105 triumph over Golden State. Miami is tied for third in the Eastern Conference after placing six players in double figures Friday and shooting 53.7 percent from the field while draining 13-of-25 from 3-point range. “We’re trying to build a consistent game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters of his team, which entered Saturday tied for first in the league in field goal percentage (48.3) and ranked second 3-point shooting (39.3).

TV: 3 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), YES (Brooklyn)

ABOUT THE HEAT (13-5): Jimmy Butler averages team highs of 18.7 points and 6.6 assists after going for 16 and six, respectively, in 28 minutes against Golden State while backcourt mate Goran Dragic (15.5 points) scored a team-high 20 off the bench. Rookie sharpshooter Tyler Herro is averaging 19.8 points over the last four games to push his season mark to 15.1 and forward Duncan Robinson has drained 8-of-14 from behind the arc the past two contests. Forward Justise Winslow totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the past two contests after missing nine with a concussion.

ABOUT THE NETS (10-9): Dinwiddie matched a season-high with six 3-pointers in Friday’s win and is averaging 24.5 points along with 7.8 rebounds in eight outings since Irving went down with an injury. “He’s more confident,” Atkinson told the Post. “I always felt like Spence, in the past, he didn’t know how good he was. You’d be surprised, as talented as he is, his confidence is just growing. The kind of scenarios he’s in with running the team, I think that’s giving him more confidence.” Shooting guard Joe Harris is second on the team among active players at 14.1 points per contest after averaging 17.4 over his last five outings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Miami F Kelly Olynyk is averaging 16.3 points and eight rebounds over the last three contests.

2. Brooklyn C Jarrett Allen boasts four straight double-doubles, including 22 points and 21 rebounds versus Cleveland last Monday.

3. Heat G Kendrick Nunn (16.4 points) is 13-for-26 from the field in the team’s last two wins and 6-for-21 in the past two losses.

PREDICTION: Heat 110, Nets 104