Kendrick Nunn, Goran Dragic carry Heat through ugly offensive night to end losing streak

David Wilson

The crowd roared for Kendrick Nunn after another critical play. The rookie was in the right spot for a loose ball, so he grabbed it and charged down the court, switched hands as he darted to the rim and dropped in a layup. Gregg Popovich called timeout before the ball even dropped to the floor as the Miami Heat rebuilt a double-digit lead with 3:42 remaining

Nunn pounded his chest as he walked to midcourt. The Heat needed the sort of performance Nunn delivered against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday in Miami. Just about everyone else was out of sorts, but Nunn could carry the Heat to a 106-100 win in front of 19,704 at AmericanAirlines Arena with the second-highest scoring game of his career.

Miami’s offense never found any sort of rhythm. Jimmy Butler finished just 4 of 11 from the field with 12 points — and went just 3 of 7 at the free-throw line, too. Bam Adebayo flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but he went just 6 of 6 from the field. Tyler Herro didn’t even play because of a left knee bruise the Heat (28-12) found out about just a few hours before tipoff.

Miami’s only salvation was its two point guards. Nunn and Goran Dragic combined to score 50 points, shooting 19 of 31 from the field and 10 of 17 from three-point range. Nunn led the way with 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting and 5-of-7 shooting from three, while Dragic added 17 while going 6 of 13 from the field and 5 of 10 from deep.

Dragic’s points came in bursts. Nunn was the star throughout. He went 4 of 4 with two three-pointers to score 10 points in the first quarter, then replicated it exactly. He went into halftime with a game-high 20 points, then received his second straight Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award before he went to the locker room.

In the end, he was the clincher, too. Nunn scored eight more points in the fourth quarter to end fend off the Spurs (17-22) and end the Heat’s first losing streak of the season after just two games.