Wade gets huge ovation on NBA's homecoming night

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MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade returned to Miami with a quiet game, but his mere presence got a rise out of Heat fans, and teammates Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson led the way to a 91-85 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday that snapped a five-game losing streak and capped a celebratory night.

Wade came off the bench to score three points on 1-of-6 shooting with two assists, one rebound, a key late block, and four turnovers in 22 minutes in his first game since being acquired in a trade from Cleveland on Thursday. Wade played 13 seasons and won three NBA championships with the Heat before leaving as a free agent for Chicago in 2016.

Johnson scored 19 points and Whiteside scored 12 points and had 16 rebounds. Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Richardson chipped in 16 points for Miami.

All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Bucks, who lost for just the second time in nine games under interim head coach Joe Prunty.

The Heat trailed 9-0 to start the game, with fans growing restless to see the return of the franchise's favorite son. They chanted, "We want Wade!"

Wade entered midway through the first quarter and received a standing ovation from the crowd. He immediately made an impact throwing a lob to Hassan Whiteside for a dunk on his first possession as the fans roared (see full recap).

Clippers get last laugh in 1st game vs. Griffin
DETROIT -- Lou Williams scored 26 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers handed former teammate Blake Griffin his first loss with Detroit, beating the Pistons 108-95 on Friday night.

It was a bit of an off night for Griffin, who scored 19 points but shot 7 of 19 from the field. The whole Detroit team faded down the stretch. The Pistons led 80-77 after three quarters but scored only 15 points in the fourth.

Detroit had won five in a row, with Griffin playing in four of those games.

Tobias Harris scored 12 points and Avery Bradley had 10. They were the key players the Clippers acquired in last week's deal that sent Griffin to Detroit.

Austin Rivers scored 16 points for Los Angeles in his first game back from a right ankle injury.

Bradley and especially Harris received ovations from the Detroit crowd when they were introduced in the starting lineup, but when the teams came out for the opening tip, there wasn't anything too unusual in terms of pregame greetings. In fact, Griffin and Bradley were hit with simultaneous technical fouls in the first quarter after battling for rebounding position.

After the game, Griffin headed straight toward the locker room and did not stick around to commiserate on the court (see full recap).

LaVine, Bulls spoil Butler’s Chicago homecoming
CHICAGO -- Zach LaVine scored 35 points against his former team, and the Bulls spoiled Jimmy Butler's return to Chicago with a 114-113 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Butler scored 38 to finish one shy of a season high. But the Bulls rallied from 17 down to snap a seven-game losing streak.

LaVine came up big down the stretch, scoring eight in the final 1:11. He nailed three free throws after getting fouled by Butler to put Chicago ahead with 18.4 seconds left.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Butler missed 3-pointers in the closing seconds, giving Minnesota another tight loss.

Butler and Taj Gibson got standing ovations prior to their first game against the team that drafted them. There were more loud cheers following a video tribute in the first quarter, with both players standing and waving as the fans rose to their feet.

Butler delivered the sort of all-around performance Bulls fans grew accustomed to during his six seasons, before the draft night trade to Minnesota for LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen. The four-time All-Star finished with seven rebounds and five assists.

Andrew Wiggins scored 18, Towns added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Gibson scored 10 for the Timberwolves, who came up short again after losing in overtime to Cleveland on Wednesday.

Robin Lopez scored 19 for Chicago (see full recap).

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