[caption id="attachment_99018" align="alignleft" width="263"] Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson (8) tries to score over San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol (16) of Spain, during the NBA game on Monday in San Antonio. — AP [/caption]LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs won their second straight game at home with a 94-90 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday. Leonard had five points in a key stretch in the fourth quarter as the Spurs sent the Heat to their fifth consecutive loss in front of a crowd of 18,400. The Spurs led 86-81 with 2:22 to play after seven consecutive points in a minute-and-a-half span by the Heat's Dion Waiters. But Leonard hit a free throw, reserve guard Patty Mills added two more free throws, and forward LaMarcus Aldridge grabbed a key offensive rebound to power the Spurs to a rare home victory. The Spurs have struggled at the AT&T Center this year, losing their first three home games of November. San Antonio made five of its six free throw attempts in the final minute. "Miami is a team that gets after it — they play physical; that's their style," Spurs center Pau Gasol said. "You have to play through contact. You have to know who you're playing against and adapt and match their aggressiveness and try to hurt them with execution. They did their job and we did ours, and we won." Aldridge added 18 points and Gasol tallied 12 for San Antonio, who committed a season-high 17 turnovers. Guard Tony Parker posted 11 points and Mills added 10 as the Spurs improved to 8-3 on the season. "We lost focus in the third quarter with eight turnovers — their pressure was good and we didn't react to it very well," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We tried to dribble too much, the ball didn't move around, and Miami got back in the game." The struggling Heat dropped to 2-7 on the season. Miami was led by Waiters' 27 points while center Hassan Whiteside had 23 points and 17 rebounds and reserve guard Tyler Johnson scored 11. "I'm just trying to be aggressive, just trying to lead out there and pick up the energy," Waiters said. "We were right there, but we just couldn't find ways at the end. "We're making mental mistakes that we can't afford from a young team." Miami again played without point guard Goran Dragic, who has missed the past two games after spraining his ankle on October 10 against the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs led 55-40 at halftime, with Aldridge leading the way with all 18 of his points by the half and Leonard racking up 13 before the intermission. In Houston, a red-hot James Harden flirted with a third consecutive triple-double and the Houston Rockets routed the Philadelphia 76ers 115-88. Harden tallied 33 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in just 34 minutes for the Rockets, who led by as many as 29 points. Trevor Ariza added 17 points, and Eric Gordon had 16. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid made his first road start of the season and posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow rookie Dario Saric chipped in 11 points as five 76ers scored in double figures In New York, Kristaps Porzingis recorded his first double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks 93-77. Carmelo Anthony also finished with 24 points as the Knicks snapped a five-game losing streak to the Mavericks. Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki warmed up before the game but determined that his sore right Achilles tendon was not ready for game action. He missed a fourth straight game. Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 20 points. Aron Baynes scored 20 points in place of injured Andre Drummond as Detroit remained undefeated at home with a win over Oklahoma City. Drummond, the NBA's second-leading rebounder, missed the game due to a sprained right ankle. Baynes, making his first start of the season, also grabbed eight rebounds as the Pistons improved to 5-0 at home. Former Indiana head coach Frank Vogel returned to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and his old team marked the occasion by playing some stingy defense in a victory over Orlando. The points allowed were easily a season low for the Pacers, who were known to have one of the league's better defenses during the Vogel era from 2011 to 2016. C.J. Miles led the Pacers with 16 points. Evan Fournier topped the Magic with 14 points but he missed 11-of-15 shots from the floor. Anthony Davis scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and Tim Frazier made two foul shots in the final seconds to lift New Orleans to its first home victory of the season. Langston Galloway scored 21 points for the Pelicans. Isaiah Thomas finished with a game-high 36 points, and Avery Bradley had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Marc Gasol scored 22 points and Vince Carter added 20 off the bench to help Memphis hold off a second-half Utah rally. Zach Randolph and Mike Conley added 18 points apiece to help the Grizzlies earn their second win in five games. Memphis finished with a 44-29 rebounding advantage. Chris Paul had 21 points, nine assists and five steals, leading Los Angeles to a romp over Brooklyn. Blake Griffin added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, while J.J. Redick contributed 18 points for the Clippers. Los Angeles captured its seventh straight win and six consecutive decision at Staples over the Nets.
