Nets rout reeling Heat as East playoff race grows tighter

MIAMI — Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Seth Curry added 17 and the Brooklyn Nets overwhelmed Miami 110-95 on Sunday (PH time), sending the Heat to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss.Andre Drummond had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got 11 points from Kyrie Irving — who will play his first home game of the season for the Nets on Monday — and 10 from Nic Claxton.Bam Adebayo scored 14 points for Miami, which trailed by as many as 37 — its biggest deficit of the season. The Heat were without coach Erik Spoelstra, who missed the game because of a family matter, and assistant Chris Quinn took his place.Tyler Herro and Max Strus each had 13 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for Miami. Jimmy Butler was held to just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting.And the Eastern Conference race only got tighter, now with the top four teams all separated by only a half-game.Philadelphia (46-27, .630) moved into first in the East, percentage points ahead of Miami (47-28, .627). Boston and Milwaukee are both 46-28 (.622); the Celtics hold the head-to-head tiebreaker at this point over the Bucks.Brooklyn (39-35) remained in the No. 8 spot, now a full game ahead of No. 9 Charlotte.GRIZZLIES 125, BUCKS 102De’Anthony Melton had 24 points, Desmond Bane added 20 and Memphis continued to win in the absence of scoring leader Ja Morant, beating Milwaukee.Dillon Brooks scored 19 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 16 and two blocks to help Memphis win its fourth straight and eighth in the last nine games. Morant is nursing a sore right knee.Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, scoring 18 points in the third quarter when Milwaukee tried to make a run. Khris Middleton added 16 points. The defending champion Bucks lost for only the third time in the last 13 games.BULLS 98, CAVALIERS 94Zach LaVine scored 26 points, DeMar DeRozan added 20 and Chicago beat Cleveland to stay alone in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference.The Bulls held the Cavaliers to just 35 points in the first half and won on the road for the first time since March 9, snapping a five-game slide. Chicago, which is 4-8 in March, came in with a one-game lead over Cleveland for the fifth playoff spot. (AP)