Los Angeles: Paul Pierce poured in 22 of his 29 points in the second half, Shaun Livingston made the game-saving deflection to end the game, and the visiting Brooklyn Nets clipped the Miami Heat, 96-95 on Wednesday.
The Heat trailed by one and had the final possession following a time out with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Chris Bosh threw an inbound pass intended for LeBron James but Livingston knocked it away as time expired, and the Nets improved to 3-0 this season over the two-time defending NBA Champs.
Mirza Teletovic netted 17 points off the bench, while Livingston finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Nets’ (33-30) seventh win in the last eight outings to move into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Bosh had 24 points, Dwyane Wade had 22 points and James added 19 but just two in the fourth quarter for slumping Miami (44-18), losers in four of its last five games.
Elsewhere, Australian Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench, Brazil’s Tiago Splitter added 12 with 10 rebounds, and the league-best San Antonio Spurs bounced the visiting Portland Trail Blazers, 103-90 for their eighth straight victory.
Damian Lillard had 23 points for Portland, which lost its season-high fourth in a row and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge to a bruised back early in the third quarter.
Blake Griffin had 30 points with 15 rebounds, Danny Granger scored 18 off the bench, and the surging LA Clippers ran their winning streak to season-high nine, 111-98 over the visiting Golden State Warriors, who had their five-game success stopped.
Klay Thompson fired in 26 points for the Warriors, outscored 57-42 in the second half.
German Dirk Nowitzki dropped in 31 points on 12-of-14 field goal shooting to move into 12th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and the visiting Dallas Mavericks ended a three-game slide, 108-101 over the Utah Jazz.
Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, Tim Hardaway Jr added 22, and the visiting New York Knicks cruised to their fifth straight win, 116-92 over the Boston Celtics, who got 27 from Jeff Green.
Rudy Gay scored 27 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 19 with 12 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings extended the slumping Philadelphia 76ers’ losing streak to 14 in a row at home and 18 straight overall 115-98.
In other games, the Toronto Raptors dropped the visiting Detroit Pistons 101-87; the visiting Memphis Grizzlies slipped past the New Orleans Pelicans 90-88; the visiting Charlotte Bobcats topped the Washington Wizards 98-95.
Also, the visiting Denver Nuggets stopped the Orlando Magic 120-112; and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers shaded the Phoenix Suns 110-101.
