Jazz Edges Heat Down Stretch in Bruising Game

Bryon Russell figured out how to get around the Miami Heat’s defense: Go over it.

Russell’s three-point basket with 4.7 seconds to play Tuesday night gave the Utah Jazz an 84-81 victory over the Heat at Salt Lake City. The Jazz erased an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win at home for the 24th time in their last 25 games.

Russell’s heroics capped an intense, hard-pounding game in which both teams lived up to their billing as two of the league’s most physically intimidating squads. Russell called it Utah’s most physical game of the year “by far.”

“We had to buckle down and say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to lose to a team we only see once a year, unless it’s in the finals,’ ” he said. “You’ve got to fight fire with fire, and they’re one of the toughest teams in the league. It was physical, but it was clean, and that’s fun.”

The Heat appeared to have the game in hand midway through the fourth quarter, but it wilted in front of a deafening Delta Center crowd and a Jazz defense that played best when it counted the most. Miami scored only three points in the final 4:12.

Portland 79, Golden State 72--Isaiah Rider scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half at Portland, Ore.

Orlando 86, Charlotte 78--Reserve Darrell Armstrong scored a career-high 28 points for the Magic at Orlando, Fla.

Cleveland 113, Boston 86--Wesley Person scored 19 points for the Cavaliers and Shawn Kemp scored six in a row during a 10-0 third-quarter run by the winners at Cleveland.

San Antonio 112, Denver 82--David Robinson broke out of his scoring slump with 17 points and Tim Duncan had 19 for the Spurs at San Antonio, Texas.

Toronto 113, Chicago 90--Dee Brown made seven three-point shots and scored a season-high 25 points to help the Raptors win at Chicago.

Around the League

Alan Henderson of the Atlanta Hawks and Tracy McGrady of the Toronto Raptors were fined $3,500 by the NBA for misconduct during games. . . . Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers fired his agent, David Falk. . . . New Jersey Net center Jim McIlvaine will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his left shoulder and is sidelined indefinitely. . . . Center Bryant Reeves of the Vancouver Grizzlies will be sidelined indefinitely because of a knee injury. . . . The Grizzlies signed former Clipper guard Terry Dehere to a 10-day contract. . . . A hyperextended right knee will keep guard Ron Harper of the Chicago Bulls out of action for two weeks. . . . Forward Vin Baker of the Seattle SuperSonics was placed on the injured list because of a thumb injury.