Butler, Dragic carry surging Heat past Suns

Jimmy Butler scored 30 of his 34 points in the first half and Goran Dragic scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half as the Miami Heat beat the host Phoenix Suns 124-108 Thursday to stop the Suns' three-game winning streak. Bam Adebayo had 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and five steals, Tyler Herro scored 15 points off the bench, and Kendrick Nunn added 11 for the Heat, who at 6-2 are off to their best start since the 2012-13 team won six of its first eight.

Aron Baynes had 23 points, Devin Booker had 22 and Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Suns, who have won five of their first eight. Butler made 11-of-16 field-goal attempts and Dragic made 9 of 16 to help the Heat shot 54.9 percent from the field and 53.6 percent from the 3-point line, where they made 15-of-28.

Dragic tied his season-high in points and made 3-pointers (five) as the Heat became the first team to outshoot the Suns this season. The Suns shot 44.0 percent. Kelly Oubre Jr., the primary defender on Butler, had 15 points. The Suns led only once, at 3-2, on Baynes' 3-pointer in the first minute.

The Suns made 11-of-32 3-pointers (34.4 percent), extending a franchise-record streak of hitting at least 11 threes to six straight games. Butler scored 30 points and missed only one shot in the first half, passing his previous season-high of 21 on a pair of free throws with 2:29 remaining. He made 9 of 10 field goals, both of his 3-pointers and all 10 of his foul shots in the first half.

Butler scored the Heat's final 12 points of the first half as Miami took a 64-57 lead into the break. Dragic had 10 points in the final two minutes of the third quarter, and his 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave the Heat a 96-86 lead after the Suns had closed to within two points four times in the third.

 

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