NEW YORK _ These are the ones you look back on when seedings and perhaps even a playoff berth are decided at season's end.
Losing one to the Brooklyn Nets is shame enough. Friday night, the Miami Heat doubled the ignominy.
A month after losing by 18 at AmericanAirlines Arena to the Nets, the Heat this time fell, 101-95, at Barclays Center, despite 22 points and 13 rebounds from center Hassan Whiteside and 17 points from guard Goran Dragic.
The Heat otherwise offered little in support on a night Nets forward DeMarre Carroll scored 26 points.
And so the Heat's five-game trip is off to a 1-2 start, with the Charlotte Hornets up next on Saturday night, the Heat losing this one after building a 16-point third-quarter lead, melting down at the finish.
With Tyler Johnson out for a second consecutive game with the ankle and Achilles injury sustained in Monday's loss to the Chicago Bulls at the start of this trip. That had Derrick Jones Jr. in the starting lineup for a second consecutive game, alongside Whiteside, James Johnson, Josh Richardson and Dragic.
The Nets also had a rotation change, with D'Angelo Russell making his return from knee surgery, utilized off the Brooklyn bench in his first appearance since Nov. 11, having missed 32 games. He finished with one point, shooting 0 for 5 in his 14 minutes.
When the Nets moved ahead 79-77 with 8:56 left, forcing a Heat timeout, it was Brooklyn's first lead since 20-19. The Heat then found themselves over the foul limit with 7:38 to play.
But with Whiteside checking back in, blocking a shot and scoring three consecutive Heat points, the Heat moved to an 84-81 lead, only to see Carroll tie it from the line on a three-shot foul on Dragic.
Carroll kept it going from there, his 3-pointer putting the Nets up 89-86 with 4:17 to play, matching Brooklyn's largest lead to that stage. Carroll's basket tied his career high of 26 points.
Later, a Spencer Dinwiddie drive pushed the Nets' lead to 91-87.
A Dragic basket then moved the Heat within 91-89, with James Johnson tying it 91-91 on a driving scoop with 2:03 left.
But with the Heat failing to protect the rim, Carroll drove for a slam and a 93-91 Brooklyn lead.
Out of sorts offensively, the Heat only could get a Wayne Ellington airball on one end with a Caris Levert drive making it 95-91 with 57.8 seconds to play.
The Nets went small in the third quarter and had the Heat sideways after they had pushed to a 16-point lead, going into the fourth quarter ahead 69-67.
The Nets effectively swarmed Whiteside and challenged any other Heat player to step up. None did in the third, with the Heat missing 16 of their final 17 shots in the period.
The Heat's 16 points in the third quarter were one off the Nets opponent low for a third period this season.
The Heat pushed to a 12-point lead in the second period and went into the intermission up 53-43, with Whiteside with 15 points and eight rebounds at that stage, supported by Kelly Olynyk's 10 first-half points.
The Heat built that lead even with Dragic 3 of 9, Richardson 2 of 6 and Justise Winslow 1 of 4 in the first half.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra consistently had his team slow the tempo early. At the outset, that had the Heat out of sorts, with a 4 of 15 start from the field. But with the defense stepping up, the Heat still stood in a 12-12 tie at that juncture.
The Heat went into the second period up 24-21, with Whiteside already at 11 points and eight rebounds at that stage.
