Adebayo, Cain lead Heat over Durant, Simmons and Nets
Bam Adebayo scored 17 points, undrafted rookie Jamal Cain added 15 points and 11 rebounds and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-80 on Thursday night.
Kevin Durant led Brooklyn with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 26 minutes. Ben Simmons had four points and 10 rebounds for the Nets.
Miami star Jimmy Butler played for the first time in the preseason, scoring two points in the first half and then sitting in the second half. Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo didn’t play for the Heat.
The Nets were minus Joe Harris, who was resting an ankle that left him out most of last season, and Kyrie Irving, who had the night off after the birth of his child. Seven Heat players scored in double figures.
Kyle Lowry had 15 points and Dru Smith, Duncan Robinson and Jamaree Bouyea each added 12 for Miami. Cain signed with the Heat in July after playing for Marquette and Oakland University.
Cam Thomas scored 13 points and Markieff Morris had 10 for the Nets.
Through the first half, the teams tried various combinations, mixing the starters with some key bench players. Both sides seemed to stretch their stars for some extra minutes in the shortened NBA preseason.
Durant played 19 minutes in the first half and scored 18 points, making six of seven shots. Simmons and backcourt mate Royce O’Neale each played 18 minutes.
TIMBERWOLVES 114 LAKERS 99
In Las Vegas, Rudy Gobert, making his first preseason appearance after an offseason trade to Minnesota, had five points and 12 rebounds in a 17-minute stint in Minnesota’s victory over Los Angeles.
Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell and Jaylen Nowell had 13 points each for Minnesota. Nathan Knight scored 11 points in 10 minutes.
Thomas Bryant, who started at center for Los Angeles, led the Lakers with 18 points and seven rebounds. Cole Swider scored 17 and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 14 points.
The Lakers starting lineup looked much different than Wednesday night’s loss to the Suns in Las Vegas. Los Angeles was without LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as Los Angeles played on the second night of a back-to-back. Anthony Davis missed another game with a lower back tightness.
Karl-Anthony Towns was not available for Minnesota, still ramping up after an illness led to hospitalization.
MAGIC 102 SPURS 99
Paolo Banchero, the overall No. 1 pick in the June draft, had nine points and five rebounds to help Orlando win in San Antonio.
Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. He shot 8 of 13 as most of the Orlando starters played between 20 and 23 minutes. Franz Wagner had 12 points and Moritz Wagner added 10.
Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 14 points, and Keita Bates-Diop added 12.
HAWKS 123 BUCKS 113
Dejounte Murray scored 25 points in his Atlanta debut and the Hawks beat Milwaukee in the NBA’s first game in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf.
The teams will play another preseason game on Saturday at Etihad Arena.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 19 points. Jevon Carter added 17.
Hawks star Trae Young had 22 points.
The game featured the NBA’s three Holiday brothers. Aaron Holiday had 16 points and Justin Holiday added nine for the Hawks. Jrue Holiday had 12 for the Bucks.
THUNDER 131 ADELAIDE 36ERS 98
Tre Mann scored 26 points, including hitting 8 of 10 on 3s and Oklahoma City beat a team from the Australian National Basketball League.
Lindy Waters III scored 23 points and Eugene Omoruyi added 19 points for the Thunder.
Craig Randall II, who had 35 points in the 36ers’ 134-124 win over the Phoenix Suns, led Adelaide with 27 points. Robert Franks scored 20 points and Antonius Cleveland had 19 points.
Adelaide used torrid 3-point shooting, hitting 56 percent from beyond the arc, to defeat the Suns in the opening game of their preseason tour. But the accuracy was not the same against Oklahoma City as the 36ers went 11 of 36 from distance.
TRAIL BLAZERS 138 MACCABI RA’ANANA 85
Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh overall pick from Kentucky in last summer’s draft, scored 27 points, connecting on 10 of 13 shots to lead the Portland past Maccabi Ra’anana.
Keon Johnson added 18 points for Portland. Norris Cole led Maccabi with 19 points and six assists.
