Josh Hart swished a left-corner 3-pointer at the buzzer as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Miami Heat 110-107 on Monday night.
Miami’s Max Strus had tied the score at 107 with a contested 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left. But the Blazers raced down court, and Damian Lillard passed the ball to Hart for the game-winner.
Portland’s Anfernee Simons scored a game-high 25 points. Jerami Grant finished with 23 points, and Lillard had 19 points and six assists.
Hart finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Miami blew a 15-point second-half lead.
Heat forward Jimmy Butler, returning from a two-game absence, produced 16 points, seven assists, six steals and four rebounds. He had been out due to a sore left hip.
The Heat, who were opening a four-game homestand, had seven players in double-figure scoring. Bam Adebayo tied Hart and Butler for scoring honors with 16 points and Kyle Lowry added eight assists.
However, Miami’s Tyler Herro, who has a sprained left ankle, missed his first game of the season. He is Miami’s second-leading scorer at 19.6 points per game.
Lillard and Simons both returned from injuries. Lillard, who was averaging 31 points before missing four straight games due to a strained right calf.
Simons was averaging 22 points before missing two straight games due to a foot injury.
Ex-Heat forward Justise Winslow scored 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting off the bench.
Grant scored 10 points in a first quarter that finished tied at 28. Both teams shot 45 percent from the floor.
Miami took a 60-53 lead at halftime as Duncan Robinson scored nine points on 3-for-5 shooting, all from long range, in the second quarter.
The Heat stretched their lead to 81-73 at the end of the third quarter. Miami’s Caleb Martin led all scorers in the period with eight points.
In the fourth, Lillard passed to Grant for a 3-pointer to give Portland a 105-104 lead with 29.3 seconds left.
After Adebayo got called for an offensive foul, Simons made two free throws with 8.5 seconds left, giving Portland a 107-104 lead.
–Field Level Media
