By Field Level Media
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Tyler Herro recorded game highs of 27 points and nine assists before being ejected during a hostile final minute as the Miami Heat rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to beat the host Houston Rockets 104-100 on Sunday.

Herro was one of five players tossed in the final 47.4 seconds after Nikola Jovic’s 3-pointer gave Miami a 98-94 lead.

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Houston’s Fred VanVleet was ejected first for arguing a five-second call on the Rockets’ ensuing inbounds play.

Twelve seconds later, Herro and Rockets forward Amen Thompson ignited a skirmish that led to both being disqualified along with Heat guard Terry Rozier and Houston guard Jalen Green. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and assistant Ben Sullivan were also kicked out.

Jovic tacked on two free throws after the chaos to help Miami close out the win. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists off the bench.

Haywood Highsmith tallied 15 points and eight rebounds for the Heat, who played a fifth consecutive game without Jimmy Butler. Bam Adebayo paired 12 points with 10 boards.

Dillon Brooks scored a team-high 22 points for Houston after missing the last three games with right ankle soreness. Alperen Sengun added 18 points and 18 rebounds, while Green scored 19 points before his ejection.

Herro led a 20-9 run that closed Miami to within 82-81 at the end of the third quarter.

He also fueled the Heat down the stretch in the fourth, assisting on Highsmith’s tying 3-pointer with 4:47 left before adding a 9-footer for a 95-94 lead with 1:56 to play.

Brooks tallied nine points during a 14-2 spurt early in the third quarter that pushed the Rockets to a nine-point lead. Green’s 3-pointer made it 73-61 with 5:19 left in the third before Miami began to chip away behind Herro, who finished the quarter with 11 points and four assists.

Timberwolves escape wild finish to defeat Spurs

Donte DiVincenzo scored a season-high 26 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 112-110 in a wild Western Conference clash in Minneapolis on Sunday.

The game was tied heading to the fourth quarter after the Spurs rallied from a 16-point deficit early in the third period.

Minnesota went ahead 110-105 after a pair of free throws by Rudy Gobert with 2:13 remaining. The Spurs responded with a jumper from Devin Vassell with 1:50 left, and Gobert split two free throws with 58 seconds to play.

Wembanyama brought San Antonio to within two points on a jarring, left-handed dunk with 45.2 seconds left. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards then missed a short floater with 27 seconds remaining and, after a foul called on Gobert, Wembanyama made just one of two free throws.

DiVincenzo returned the favor, missing the first of two free throws with 12.8 seconds to play, keeping the game within two points. After a time out, San Antonio’s Jeremy Sochan missed a desperation 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, allowing Minnesota to escape with the victory.

Gobert added 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Timberwolves won their third straight game.

Julius Randle had 16 points, Edwards scored 14 on 6 of 20 shooting from the floor, Jaden McDaniels hit for 12 and Naz Reid scored 11 for Minnesota.

Wembanyama rang up 34 points to lead all scorers. Harrison Barnes added 24 for San Antonio, Vassell hit for 22 points, Keldon Johnson tallied 13 and Chris Paul had 14 assists and four steals.

The start of the game was delayed for an hour because of issues with the court surface. Once things got started, the Spurs owned the first quarter, sprinting to a 12-point lead before settling for a 33-25 advantage after one period.

The Timberwolves forged a 13-0 run to open the second period and took a 38-33 lead when Josh Minott poured in a 3-pointer with 8:34 left before halftime.

Hawks have little trouble pinning Raptors with 10th straight loss

Trae Young collected 34 points and 10 assists and the visiting Atlanta Hawks never trailed en route to a 136-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

Reserve De’Andre Hunter added 22 points for the Hawks, who have won four games in a row.

Jalen Johnson chipped in 15 points, six steals and one block. Onyeka Okongwu returned after missing five games due to a knee injury and scored 15 points off the bench, Zaccharie Risacher contributed 14 points and Clint Capela had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Scottie Barnes had 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Raptors, who have lost 10 straight games. RJ Barrett added 17 points, and Jakob Poeltl (groin injury) was back in the lineup after missing four games and had 13 points.

Bruce Brown made his season debut and scored 12 points off the bench for Toronto, which committed 31 turnovers.