Towns unleashes fiery form, anchors Knicks past Heat

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points and 13 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Miami Heat, 116-107, on Wednesday night, Oct. 30.

Towns had the fourth-most points for the Knicks against the Heat. Jamal Crawford scored 52 in 2007, Carmelo Anthony had 50 at Miami in 2013 and RJ Barrett 46 in 2022.

Mikal Bridges added 17 points for New York, which trailed by 13 in the third quarter before flipping the game. OG Anunoby had 11 points and Josh Hart finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.

Tyler Herro had 34 points for Miami, hitting eight 3-pointers. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, Jimmy Butler had 15, Bam Adebayo 11 and Nikola Jovic 10.

Miami was again without Kevin Love. He has missed all four games this season for personal reasons.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Anfernee Simons scored 25 points, Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 12 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Clippers, 106-105.

Deni Avdija had 13 points and 10 rebounds and made a game-saving block when he stuffed Norman Powell on a fast break with 29 seconds remaining to preserve a one-point lead.

In San Francisco, Buddy Hield scored 21 points, Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points and nine rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans for the second straight night, 104-89.

Golden State, committed to a 12-man rotation, again received contributions from throughout its deep roster as Stephen Curry missed his second straight game with a left ankle injury. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated Friday. Andrew Wiggins also sat out consecutive nights because of low back tightness.

Earlier, Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that included a special homecoming for LeBron James and his son, Bronny.

The win marks the first time the Cavs have started 5-0 since the 2016-17 season, led by LeBron, and the third time in franchise history.

In the final minutes, Bronny played for the second time as a pro and was inserted with 5:16 left. The younger James, who grew up in the arena, made a 14-foot jumper with 2:03 to play for his first NBA points.

In Charlotte, Tre Mann scored 27 points off the bench, Nick Richards had 24 points and 14 rebounds and the Hornets defeated the Toronto Raptors, 138-133, for their first home win of the season.

Cody Martin had a career-high 25 points, and LaMelo Ball scored 19 for Charlotte, which allowed a 23-point first half lead to evaporate before recapturing it with a 12-0 run to end the third quarter.