DeMarcus Cousins made 2 free throws with 5.4 seconds left, and the defending champion Golden State Warriors rallied from 19 points down in the first quarter to beat the Miami Heat 120-118 for their fourth straight win.
The Warriors trailed 26-7 with 4:38 left in the first quarter. They outscored the Heat 113-92 the rest of the way.
The Heat had the ball down 2 after a timeout, but Bam Adebayo missed a tip attempt at the buzzer that would have tied it.
During clutch time, the Heat outscored the Warriors 16-13. Justise Winslow scored 7 of the Heat’s 16 on 2 for 4 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Draymond Green had 6 of his 14 assists, 1 of them on a basket by Kevin Durant that tied the game and 1 on a basket by Durant that put the Warriors ahead. With 59 seconds left, Dwyane Wade stole the ball from Durant, and his driving layup off it put the Heat ahead 116-115.
Durant scored 39 points on 16 for 24 shooting. Klay Thompson added 29 points (14 in the fourth quarter) with 6 3-pointers, and Stephen Curry scored 25 points (12 in the second quarter) with 5 3-pointers. The Warriors had 3 20-point scorers. Green assisted on 7 of Durant’s 16 baskets, 3 of them in the fourth quarter.
For the Heat, Josh Richardson scored a career-high 37 points on 14 for 22 shooting, and Dion Waiters added 24 points with 6 3-pointers. Winslow scored 22 points. Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Heat had 3 20-point scorers.
The Warriors outscored the Heat 25-7 on the fast break. The Warriors’ starters were outscored 55-40 in 19 minutes together.