NEW YORK – Shaun Livingston was flying all over the court. LeBron James could only sit and watch.
Joe Johnson scored 32 points, Livingston helped Brooklyn dominate the second overtime after James fouled out, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 104-95 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.
Livingston had two baskets and two blocked shots in the second OT, finishing with 19 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and five assists over 51 minutes in a sensational effort while starting for injured Deron Williams.
The Nets followed the lead of a player who spent years revitalizing a career that was sidetracked by a horrific knee injury, jumping on the Heat early and fighting them off late.
“Gutsy. Gutsy,” Kevin Garnett said. “I thought we fought for 48-plus minutes.”
Paul Pierce scored 23 points but missed jumpers that could have won it at the end of regulation and the first overtime. Still, the Nets remained unbeaten in 2014, adding a victory over the two-time defending NBA champions to their recent wins over Oklahoma City and Golden State.
“It was huge,” Livingston said. “We’ve obviously been playing better as of late. I think our momentum that we were carrying into this game, we’re trying to ride that wave.”
James had 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but fouled out on an offensive foul with 36 seconds left in the first overtime and the Heat trailing by two. It was the first time that James fouled out in the regular season since 2008.
Miami pushed it to a second overtime without him, but it was all Nets from there against a Heat team that was already missing Dwyane Wade and two other starters.
James was visibly frustrated with his teammates in the first half – he said he apologized at halftime for his attitude and body language. He was irate when Mirza Teletovic flagrantly fouled him, but nearly overcame all that to help Miami pull it out.
“We’re a no-excuse team, but right now we have three starters that didn’t play,” James said. “Even though we’ve got a lot of depth, it is hard to make up for three starters being out.”
Miami totaled six points in the overtimes, fewest ever in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) in a game that went at least two overtimes.
Norris Cole scored 18 points, but Ray Allen was 2 of 14 for nine points in place of Wade, who rested his sore knees after playing 39 minutes in a loss at New York on Thursday. Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers also sat out the game, which featured players on both teams wearing nicknames on their jerseys, a first of its kind in the NBA.
“This was a playoff atmosphere-type game,” Pierce said. “You just felt the energy in the building.”
WARRIORS 99, CELTICS 97
OAKLAND, Calif. – Stephen Curry hit a go-ahead jumper with 2.1 seconds left, lifting Golden State over the skidding Boston Celtics in its first game back home after a 6-1 road trip.
Curry came off a pick-and-roll with David Lee before hitting the high-arching shot over center Kris Humphries to electrify the sellout crowd of 19,596. Gerald Wallace missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending Boston to its seventh straight loss.
CLIPPERS 123, LAKERS 87
LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers shot 71 percent in the first quarter on the way to their largest victory ever over the downtrodden Lakers.
Darren Collison had 20 points and seven assists, J.J. Redick added 19 points in his return, and DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers’ third straight win and fifth in six games. They improved to 17-3 at home, second-best in the NBA.
HAWKS 83, ROCKETS 80
ATLANTA – Kyle Korver scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 16 seconds, and Atlanta fought off Houston’s late comeback.
Paul Millsap also had 20 points for the Hawks, who earned their second straight impressive home win following a victory over Indiana on Wednesday night.
PISTONS 114, 76ERS 104
PHILADELPHIA – Josh Smith had 22 points in an outstanding all-around game, Brandon Jennings made four 3-pointers in the second half and Detroit snapped a six-game losing streak with a comeback victory over Philadelphia.
Five other players scored in double figures for the Pistons, who averaged just 88.8 points during their skid. Jennings had 18 of his 19 points in the second half. Kyle Singler and Will Bynum each had 16 off the bench.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, BOBCATS 92
MINNEAPOLIS – Nikola Pekovic scored 26 points in 27 minutes and Minnesota blew off some steam by beating Charlotte.
Kevin Love had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Kevin Martin added 19 points and Minnesota’s bench had 20 points before Charlotte’s reserves even got on the board late in the second quarter.
MAVERICKS 107, PELICANS 90
NEW ORLEANS – Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points, Monta Ellis added 23 and Dallas sent short-handed New Orleans to its fourth straight loss.
Vince Carter added 14 points and Jae Crowder 12 for Dallas, which never trailed. The Mavericks led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter over a Pelicans squad minus starting point guard Jrue Holiday and leading scorer Ryan Anderson.
PACERS 93, WIZARDS 66
INDIANAPOLIS – David West scored 20 points and C.J. Watson had 16, leading the Pacers to a win over the Wizards.
Indiana (29-7) used an 11-3 run in the third quarter to create separation from Washington. Two field goals from West capped off the swing, which put the Pacers up 56-40.
GRIZZLIES 104, SUNS 99
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Mike Conley matched his career high with 31 points, and the Grizzlies used a fourth-quarter burst to overtake the Suns.
Zach Randolph had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, while Ed Davis had 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. The Grizzlies outrebounded the Suns 53-44. Mike Miller finished with 11 points. Randolph tied his season high in assists with seven.
BULLS 81, BUCKS 72
MILWAUKEE – Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back from a right knee injury, Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 18 points and the Bulls beat the Bucks.
Taj Gibson added 12 points at the Bradley Center, where a healthy sprinkling of Bulls fans wearing red celebrated the team’s fourth straight win.
CAVALIERS 113, JAZZ 102
SALT LAKE CITY – Kyrie Irving had 25 points and eight assists to lead Cleveland over Utah in Luol Deng’s first game with the Cavaliers.
Irving scored 17 points in the third quarter to turn a three-point deficit into a 15-point lead as Cleveland snapped Utah’s season-high four-game home winning streak. Deng had 10 points in his Cavs debut.
KINGS 103, MAGIC 83
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Rudy Gay added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Sacramento beat the undersized Orlando Magic.
The Kings won back-to-back home games for the first time since a three-game string in March 2013.
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