NBA: Rookie Johnson carries Heat past Suns

This was supposed to be Goran Dragic's night.

The point guard, who made his NBA debut with the Suns in 2008 and was acquired by the Miami Heat from Phoenix on Feb. 19, was certainly at the forefront of much of what happened on Monday night (Tuesday, PHL time).

He battled back spasms and foul trouble and had a steal that helped spark the first of three ejections.

But it was Tyler Johnson, an undrafted rookie guard who made his NBA debut on Jan. 15, who scored a game-high and season-high 26 points in just 25 minutes, leading the Heat to a 115-98 win at AmericanAirlines Arena.

"I like to stay ready," said Johnson, who played his college ball at Fresno State. "That has been the story of my whole life. Whenever I get an opportunity, I try to make the most of it."

Johnson, who made 10 of 13 shots, including three of three on 3-pointers, overcame what at first looked to be a serious injury to his left ankle.

But Johnson kept playing.

"The good thing is that when you sprain your ankle so many times, it hurts for a little bit, but then it goes away," said Johnson, who also had four steals and was perfect on three free throws. "I will be better by the next game."

Ejected were Suns forward Markieff Morris (13 points), Suns center Alex Len (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Heat center Hassan Whiteside (17 points, 10 rebounds). It was the first NBA game this season with three ejections.

With 8:43 left in the third, Dragic stole a pass and drove for an attempted layup. Morris prevented the basket but hit Dragic in the head while trying for the block, causing Dragic to take a hard fall.

"It was a hard foul, but it was a basketball play," Morris said. "The refs thought otherwise and kicked me out. (Dragic) was in the air and jumped back. My momentum hit him hard. He did fall hard, but it didn't look intentional like I tried to push him (under the basket)."

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek agreed with Morris.

"Markieff challenged the shot," Hornacek said. "We all know how Goran plays -- he throws that right arm out. The refs said (Morris) hit him up in the neck, and that's what makes it automatic."

Dragic, who finished with 21 points in just 15 minutes, left the game briefly but returned.

With 4:26 left in the third, Len and Whiteside tangled in the paint. Len threw a shove, Whiteside went low for a tackle, and both were ejected.

"You had two desperate teams feeling the weight of the season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We came in feeling this was a must-win, and I'm sure they felt the same way.

"Our guys had that look in their eyes in shoot-around this morning. There was no messing around."

The Heat (26-33) snapped a two-game losing streak. With the top eight teams making the playoffs in each conference, Miami is in seventh place, half a game ahead of the Nets. Ninth-place Indiana is just one game behind the Heat.

Miami, which improved to 11-17 at home, the seventh-worst home record in the NBA, also got 16 points and a game-high nine assists from shooting guard Dwyane Wade.

The Suns (31-30) got 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds from forward P.J. Tucker and 20 points from guard Eric Bledsoe.

Still, the Suns lost for the seventh time in nine games and are in 10th place, 2.5 games behind No. 8 Oklahoma City in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Suns led 24-23 after the first quarter. The Heat got good news in the quarter when backup center Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who missed one game due to illness, returned to the lineup with 1:07 left.

Dragic was scoreless in the first quarter after picking up two quick fouls and playing just three minutes.

The Heat, which never led in the first quarter, made a move in the second. Miami led by as many as 18 points and settled for a 62-48 halftime advantage.

By halftime, Dragic had eight points in just seven minutes.

Miami led 85-74 after the wild third period that took 43 minutes to play. - Reuters