Heat hold off Pistons 105-98

MIAMI (AP) — Max Strus scored all of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro finished with a game-high 29 off the bench and the Miami Heat escaped with a 105-98 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Strus, playing in the second half after Jimmy Butler left the game with a sprained ankle, scored 13 points in a span of 2:55 of the final quarter to help Miami rally. Bam Adebayo finished with 16 for the Heat.

Herro hit the biggest shot of the night for Miami (46-24), a 3-pointer for a five-point lead with 1:59 left.

Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 22 points. Isaiah Livers scored 16, while Marvin Bagley III and Saddiq Bey each had 13 for Detroit, which closed the third quarter on a 19-0 run to put a serious scare into the Eastern Conference leaders.

With the win, Miami put another half-game between itself and all its closest challengers in the race for the No. 1 seed in the East playoffs. Milwaukee is now 2 1/2 games back, Philadelphia 3 1/2 games back, Chicago four back and Boston 4 1/2 out.

Butler had eight points on 2-for-9 shooting in the first half, limping through much of the second quarter. He didn’t return after halftime, diagnosed with a sprained right ankle.

Detroit played without No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, who was held out and stayed behind at the team hotel with a non-COVID illness.

“He started feeling bad last night,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “Came to shootaround looking like death, eating crackers. So, he’s in pretty bad shape.”

TIP-INS: Detroit didn’t have anyone reach double figures in scoring until Grant made a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter. … The Pistons had been 5-0 when leading road games entering the fourth quarter. … Casey remained on 99 wins in his three-plus seasons with Detroit.

HONORING BLAHA: Unprompted, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra paid tribute Tuesday night to Pistons broadcaster George Blaha — who underwent a heart bypass procedure Tuesday and will miss the rest of the season. The need for the bypass was discovered during a routine checkup last week.

“I want to wish him well and hope for a quick recovery. My dad went to college with him so they go way, way, way back,” Spoelstra said. Blaha intends to return for a 47th season of calling Pistons games next fall.

RARE START: Rodney McGruder started 112 games in his first three NBA seasons, all with Miami. He started for the Pistons on Tuesday — just his eighth start in three seasons since leaving the Heat. McGruder started four games with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019-20, then two for the Pistons last season and now two for Detroit this season.

UP NEXT: The Pistons visit Orlando on Thursday.

Bucks rally past Jazz 117-111

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks rally and then fend off the Utah Jazz in the final seconds for a 117-111 victory on Monday night.

Jrue Holiday had 29 points and seven assists, and Khris Middleton scored 23 for Milwaukee, who saw Brook Lopez and George Hill both return to the lineup. Lopez had been sidelined with a back injury since the season opener and missed 67 games. Hill sat out 16 games with neck soreness.

Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 29 points and eight assists, while Mike Conley added 29 points and seven assists and Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 14 rebounds.

The Jazz shaved a seven-point deficit to two on Gobert’s putback layup that made it 113-111 with 22 seconds left. But the Bucks’ Jevon Carter made a pair of free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to seal it.

The Bucks are at Sacramento on Wednesday.