National Basketball Association
Miami 104, Brooklyn 96
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, January 30, 2017
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #58 Josh Tiven, # Steve Anderson
Attendance: 19600

MIAMI -- James Johnson gave his Miami Heat the play of the game.

He also gave them their biggest scare.

Led by Johnson's spectacular last-minute dunk, Miami won its eighth straight game, defeating the Brooklyn Nets 104-96 on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

After a missed jumper by Rodney McGruder, Johnson soared, grabbed the rebound with his left hand and dunked all in one motion, giving Miami a 101-93 lead with 57 seconds left.

Johnson, though, appeared to hurt his right shoulder on the final play of the game.

"He said it was a stinger," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Johnson, who blocked a shot on the play in which he got hurt. "We'll find out more (on Tuesday)."

Johnson downplayed the injury.

"It's the NBA," Johnson said. "I've got to act it out."

Johnson's status aside, everything else was positive for Miami.

The Heat (19-30), which has the longest active win streak in the NBA, got balanced scoring. Goran Dragic had 20 points and eight assists. Dion Waiters had 19 points and a season-high nine assists, and Johnson added 17 points.

Brooklyn (9-39) outrebounded Miami 53-34 and scored more points (58-40) in the paint. But the Nets made just 4 of 26 3-point shots (15.4 percent) and Miami was 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) from deep.

The game changed in the second quarter when Miami went on a 17-0 run. Waiters scored eight points during that crucial second quarter.

"We just got jagged," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said of his team's second quarter. "Our offense was not flowing like it is supposed to flow."

Waiters, who also had six rebounds and just one turnover in a strong overall game, said the Nets were determined to keep him from penetrating.

"They were packing the paint on me," said Waiters, who made 7 of 18 shots from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers. "But I was able to make the right play at the right time."

Brooklyn, which has the worst record in the NBA, lost its sixth straight game. The Nets have the worst-ranked defense in the NBA and allowed an opponent to score more than 100 points for the 24th consecutive game.

The Nets also finished 1-15 in January, marking the most losses in any one month in franchise history.

Bojan Bogdanovich led the Nets with 16 points. Brook Lopez, who had 33 points against Miami last week, was held to 14 points.

"I'm very disappointed in myself -- I hurt our team a lot," said Lopez, who made just 5 of 17 shots from the field, including 0 of 6 on 3-pointers. "I can't have nights like this. I have to have better focus and be more aggressive."

Brooklyn played a strong first quarter, shooting 58.3 percent from the field and committing just two turnovers, taking a 32-28 lead.

Miami took its first lead of the game in the second quarter and had a 56-52 advantage at the break. Both teams shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Nets made just 1 of 10 on 3-pointers and the Heat converted 8 of 18 from deep.

The Heat hit three more 3-pointers in the third quarter and shot 58.8 percent from the field in the quarter overall, extending their lead to 84-77 heading into the fourth.

Miami had its worst offensive quarter in the fourth, shooting just 29.4 percent from the floor. But the Heat clamped down defensively, holding the Nets to 20 shooting, including 0 of 9 on 3-pointers.

"Brooklyn played at a frantic pace," Spoelstra said. "But our guys were making multiple efforts every possession, which was required."

These days, the red-hot Heat are doing everything that's required to win.

Waiters put it best: "We want to continue to make noise."

NOTES: SG Dion Waiters, who led Miami to a 4-0 record by averaging 23.3 points, was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. ... Heat G Tyler Johnson (left shoulder) returned after not having played since Jan. 19. He scored just three points in 19 minutes, making 1 of 7 shots from the field. ... Heat G Josh Richardson (left foot), who is averaging 11.2 points, hasn't played since Jan. 6. That was the last of his 11 consecutive starts. ... Nets PG Jeremy Lin (left hamstring) is expected to miss another month. ... Nets SF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who twisted his right ankle on Saturday, also returned. ... Next up for Brooklyn is a return home to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday. ... After playing host to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, Miami won't play another team with a winning record until it travels to play the Houston Rockets on Feb. 15.
Top Game Performances
 
Brooklyn   Miami
Bojan Bogdanovic 16 Scoring Goran Dragic 20
Isaiah Whitehead 5 Assists Dion Waiters 9
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 11 Rebounds Hassan Whiteside 9
Spencer Dinwiddie 4 Free Throws Made Goran Dragic 7
Trevor Booker 2 Steals Goran Dragic 3
Brook Lopez 2 Blocks James Johnson 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Brooklyn 96 42.5 4-26 18-22 16 53 4 7 16
Miami 104 47.6 11-26 15-23 22 34 8 9 11
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Heat have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .290 after a loss.
  • Brooklyn will play their next game at home against New York. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .231 after a loss.