Associated Press
MIAMI – After getting a pep talk from Pat Riley, Eddie Jones delivered.
Jones scored 25 points, including the game-winner with 1.7 seconds left, as the Miami Heat overcame the absence of Alonzo Mourning for an 87-85 overtime victory against the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night.
Riley had pleaded for Jones to take on more of the offensive leadership on a team that lacks consistent scoring. Jones didn’t disappoint.
“Coach talked to me today about making plays, not just being a “go-to’ man, but also getting my teammates involved,” said Jones, who added nine rebounds and three assists.
Jones scored five of his points in overtime to help the Heat snap a two-game losing streak and beat Seattle for only the sixth time in franchise history.
He also held up against Seattle’s Gary Payton, who scored 24 points to lead the Sonics and almost won the game with a 3-pointer at the buzzer following Jones’ bucket.
“I was really looking for the ball in the fourth quarter and in OT,” Jones said. “Payton was trying to take me out of it. I was looking for the ball and to be aggressive and attack the rim and make something happen for the ball club.”
Mourning missed the game because of food poisoning.
Miami also lost swingman Kendall Gill in overtime with a fractured left pinkie finger.
The Sonics battled back from an 80-73 deficit to force overtime as Miami went scoreless the final 5:31 of the fourth quarter. The Heat had two chances to win in the closing seconds, but Gill and LaPhonso Ellis missed shots.
Neither team scored in overtime until Jones drove for a layup and converted a free throw to put Miami ahead 83-80 with 2:22 left.
Sam Mack scored in the lane to push the lead to 85-80, but the Sonics tied it down the stretch. Vin Baker scored Seattle’s first points on a tip-in with 58 seconds left, and Payton tied it with a 3-pointer from the corner with 22.5 seconds remaining.
The Heat worked for the final shot, and Jones hit from 17 feet over Payton with 1.7 seconds left.
“I can’t play defense any better than that,” Payton said. “He pumped and double-pumped. I was right there and he still made the shot.”
Payton attempted a 28-footer just before the buzzer, but it rimmed out.
“When I shot it, I thought it was going in,” Payton said. “It went it, then came out.”
Sean Marks, making his first career start in Mourning’s absence, scored a career-high 15 points with five rebounds.
Baker added 20 points for Seattle, which shot just 32 percent from the field.
Still, the Sonics, who outlasted Orlando 123-119 in double-overtime on Monday, were in position to win at the end.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, but we were right there at the end, and that says something about our competitiveness,” Sonics guard Brent Barry said.
“If we keep giving that kind of effort, good things will happen.”
The Heat opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to build a 54-39 lead and led by 17 points midway through the period. Seattle closed with a flurry, hitting three 3-pointers to pull to 67-61 at the end of the quarter.
“It was a great win for us,” Riley said. “I don’t care how you characterize it. We had some great contributions, and obviously Eddie had a great game. It was a great win for a team that was undermanned.”
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