The Brooklyn Nets (39-34, 20-18 Away) are on the road to face the Miami Heat (40-34, 25-13 Home) Saturday in a matchup of patient teams. Brooklyn was edged out by the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-114 at Barclays Center on Thursday, their fifth straight loss.
With 32 points, Mikal Bridges was the top scorer in defeat. Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 25 points and 12 assists. The Nets are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Miami won their fourth straight home game on Wednesday at FTX Arena, beating the New York Knicks 127-120.
Jimmy Butler had 35 points and nine assists, leading the team. The Heat are seventh in the Eastern Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season.
After winning both of the earlier season matchups against Miami, the last of which was a 116-105 victory at Barclays Center on February 15, their third straight head-to-head victory, Brooklyn will be looking for a season sweep.
Bridges led the Nets with 45 points and eight rebounds. Bam Adebayo had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in the losing effort. The Nets have been led this season by Nic Claxton, who is averaging 12.5 points per game. Claxton also has grabbed 9.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Royce O’Neale is dishing 3.7 assists.
Butler (22.9 ppg), Adebayo (21.0), and Tyler Herro (20.2) have supplied much of the Heat’s offense. Adebayo also has pulled down 9.3 rebounds per game, while Butler has distributed 5.1 assists per game.
Half-court execution will be paramount in this matchup that showcases a pair of the NBA’s slowest-paced teams, as the Heat and the Nets rank 29th and 26th, respectively, in possessions per game.
The teams have split their last 10 matchups at FTX Arena (5-5).Brooklyn is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +0.3 (110.7-110.4).
Miami has a 7-3 record over the last 10, scoring 117.5 points per game on average while allowing 114.9 (+2.6 margin). The Heat are averaging 109.3 ppg for the full season while allowing 109.7.
NETS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Cam Thomas: 4.0 | 13.5 | -9.5
Points per game:
Mikal Bridges: 26.0 | 19.3 | +6.7
Cam Thomas: 2.3 | 10.3 | -8.0
Assists per game:
Spencer Dinwiddie: 10.4 | 6.1 | +4.3
HEAT HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Victor Oladipo: 10.5 | 16.7 | -6.2
Rebounds per game:
Kevin Love: 4.8 | 6.7 | -1.9
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Miami Heat -6.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
