Spurs deal Heat 6th straight loss

MIAMI – Within seven points early in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat had reason to believe they could knock off the San Antonio Spurs.

Those hopes were dashed in a mere 16 seconds.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 23 and the Spurs got seven points on one possession to help them beat the Heat, 119-101, on Tuesday night – the sixth straight time San Antonio has topped Miami, going back to the 2014 NBA Finals.

Danny Green scored 15 for the Spurs, who have won five straight.

“You saw what we felt,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The Spurs were terrific in that second half. Right now, that’s a different level of basketball from where we are, right now, today. But that doesn’t mean it can’t change when we get back from the break.”

In other results, Washington spoiled Kurt Rambis’ coaching debut as it edged New York, 111-108; Milwaukee snapped a long skid with a 112-111 thriller over the erstwhile streaking Boston; and Utah nipped Dallas, 121-119.

Back in Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 20 points on 9 for 12 shooting for Miami, which goes into the All-Star break on a two-game slide. Chris Bosh scored 18 and Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and six rebounds before getting ejected in that pivotal possession in the fourth. Whiteside was assessed a flagrant-2 for elbowing the Spurs’ Boban Marjanovic as they tried to get position for a rebound.

“We’ve been through this with him before,” Spoelstra said of Whiteside. “It’s a disappointing play. That’s not a basketball play.”

Whiteside did not comment after the game, sent home by team officials.

“Whatever consequences come from it, he’s got to deal with it,” Wade said.

Miami trailed by 15 in the third, then got within 87-80 with 9:51 left and there was plenty of life in the arena.

One possession later, the storyline changed mightily.

Patty Mills made a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Beno Udrih to get things started. Mills made the free throw, while Whiteside and Marjanovic tangled and the Heat center led with his elbow while spinning back toward the Spurs’ rookie. The flagrant was called, Marjanovic made one free throw and Leonard hit a jumper to complete the possession.

“Rare,” Aldridge said. “It’s the NBA. Anything is possible.”

Just like that, the Spurs were up 94-80 and the outcome wasn’t in doubt again.

So the Spurs remained on pace for the third-best regular season in NBA history – very quietly, too.

“We prefer it that way,” Green said. “Even if we weren’t under the radar, we’d still have to be focused and not pay attention to what goes on outside of what we’re doing.”