Unlikely stars fuel Nets comeback vs. Heat

Armoni Brooks, who was recalled from the G League earlier in the day, scored 17 points off the bench in his Nets debut as Brooklyn rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat the host Miami Heat, 109-105, on Wednesday night.

Brooklyn's bench outscored Miami, 50-26, and Brooks was a big part of that as he made 6-of-7 shots, including 5-of-6 on 3-pointers.

The Nets also got a team-high 21 points from Mikal Bridges, and 17 points from reserve Lonnie Walker IV, who is a former Miami Hurricanes star. Ben Simmons grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Brooklyn's Cam Thomas, who entered the night ranked third in the NBA with a 33.0 scoring average, was held to 13 points. He made just 4-of-19 shots and had four turnovers and just one assist.

Miami, which has lost four straight games, was led by Tyler Herro's 30 points. Bam Adebayo, who had missed Miami's previous game with a bruised hip, had 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Jimmy Butler added 20 points, but no other Heat player scored in double figures.

The Nets, who outscored Miami 34-22 in the fourth quarter, won their second straight game.

Due to injuries, Miami was without two players: Caleb Martin (left knee) and Kevin Love (left hip). Brooklyn was without four players: Nic Claxton (left ankle); Cameron Johnson (left calf); Spencer Dinwiddie (left ankle); and Dennis Smith (left hip).

Both teams shot 50 percent from the floor in the first period as Miami grabbed a slim 32-29 lead. Brooklyn trailed by as many as nine points in the quarter but managed to rally despite two uneasy developments: three fouls on Simmons and just one point for Thomas.

Miami stretched its second-quarter lead to 16 points before settling for a 56-46 halftime advantage. Thomas shot just 1-for-10 in the first half, posting four points. Conversely, Herro had a first-half-high 16 points.

Thomas finally got untracked in the third quarter with nine points on 3-for-7 shooting. But Miami still held an 83-75 advantage.

But then, with 9:23 left in the fourth, Walker hit a 3-pointer to tie the score, 86-86. Less than a minute later, the Nets took their first lead since the first quarter as Trendon Watford made another 3-pointer, and the Nets rolled from there.