Heat-Wizards Preview

DAN BURCH
Posted Feb 09 2012 11:29PM

The Miami Heat didn't get off to a great start on their longest road trip of the season.

A lesser opponent could help the Heat get back on track Friday when they visit the Washington Wizards.

While Miami has won 11 of 14, it had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 102-89 loss at Orlando on Wednesday in the opener of a six-game road trip. The trek includes Miami's only back-to-back-to-back of the season, Sunday through Tuesday at Atlanta, Milwaukee and Indiana.

The Heat allowed Orlando to make 17 3-pointers and got outscored 23-9 in second-chance points. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 33 points, but only 11 of those came after halftime.

"They set the tone this game, right from the get-go," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We were able to get into a little bit more of an aggressiveness and attack. A little bit more of a disposition in the second quarter, but they were able to sustain it longer and more consistently than we were able to."

After starting 5-0 on the road, the Heat (19-7) have lost five of their last seven away from Miami.

Thankfully for Miami, a trip to the nation's capital awaits. The Heat have more total wins (66) and road wins (30) against the Wizards in their history than any other opponent. This is the first meeting of the season between these teams, but Miami has won five in a row in the series and 11 of the last 12 games against Washington since the start of the 2008-09 season.

The Heat have also won six in a row in Washington, where they are 30-17 all-time.

Washington has been brutal this season no matter where the game has been played – only New Orleans and Charlotte have worse records than the Wizards' 5-21 mark.

The Wizards have lost five of six and were denied another chance for their first consecutive wins of the season Wednesday when they lost 107-93 at home to New York.

It got so bad that the Wizards' own fans were chanting the name of the Knicks' Jeremy Lin at the end of the game – an ignominious mark for the team, which fell to 4-11 at the Verizon Center.

Lin, who played against Washington coach Randy Wittman's son Ryan in college, outdueled the Wizards' John Wall, who scored 29 points to lead Washington.

"My son Ryan told me that they did a much better job guarding him than we did tonight," Wittman said of Lin. "I already had that text message before the game was over. Makes Dad feel good."

The Wizards are 3-6 since Wittman took over for Flip Saunders on Jan. 24.

Washington forward Rashard Lewis has missed the last two games with a sore left knee and is questionable for Friday. If he does play, Lewis needs four points to reach the 15,000 point plateau for his career. He would join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history with 15,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 1,500 3-pointers.

Washington begins a five-game road trip Sunday when it visits Detroit.

Wade's 26 is quite a show; Heat top Wizards 106-89

By JOSEPH WHITE
Posted Feb 10 2012 11:03PM

WASHINGTON (AP) Dwyane Wade started his drive to the basket with a behind-the-back dribble at the free throw line, then followed with a 360-degree move in the paint and ended with a shot off the glass.

The play started one of those poetry-in-motion runs, with fluid dribbles, spin moves and alley-oop passes to LeBron James. Wade went on to either score or get the assist on 20 straight Miami Heat points.

Wade finished with 26 points, and James had 18 points and nine assists Friday night in the Heat's 106-89 win over the Washington Wizards, a rebound victory on a road trip that had a tough start in Orlando two days earlier.

"It was very fun," Wade said. "That's why we love to play this game. He makes me look good, so I think that's what the fans came to see. They love to see their favorite players do amazing things."

Wade and James combined to score Miami's last 18 points of the first half, including a pair of one-handed throw-down alley-oop Wade-to-James dunks during a 10-0 spurt.

Coach Erik Spoelstra had no problem with the show - until the pair tried to get a little too fancy.

"We want to be efficient, and that's the most important thing," Spoelstra said. "And we were able to get some of those opportunities there in the second quarter. I think that last one was probably where we needed to be a little bit more judicious about it and try to get the score - there was also one of those in the fourth quarter.

"We have a team that feeds off electric plays, and that's fine. I'm not going to put the reins on that, so we'll continue to get better at that. We understand the importance of taking care of the ball."

As for James, he figures the alley-oop is not only a crowd-pleaser - it's a high percentage shot.

"I think we're probably 90 percent on the alley-oops this year," James said. "Either him-to-me or me-to-him, so we don't have to be worried about getting too carried away."

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 11 rebounds, making for only the second time this season that he and Wade have scored 20-plus. The Heat bounced back from a 13-point loss at Orlando on Wednesday to improve to 1-1 on their six-game road trip, and they had the perfect foil: Miami has won six straight and 12 of 13 against the Wizards, and seven in a row in Washington.

Spoelstra attributed the turnaround to a "real, objective, raw film session" Friday morning.

"That's what was needed. We couldn't just leave that game behind in Orlando," the coach said. "All of us were disappointed about it."

JaVale McGee scored a season-high 24 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Wizards (5-22), who are 3-7 since Randy Wittman replaced fired coach Flip Saunders.

Nick Young scored 22 points for Washington, and John Wall had 15 points and tied his season high with 10 assists. Trevor Booker grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.

The Wizards stayed within shouting distance until the fourth quarter with some acrobatic plays of their own. The Heat led 52-42 after a first half that included a combined five alley-oop baskets and a few misfires.

"Nobody wants to see that show going against you," Wittman said. "I thought we had a little bit of a show of our own."

But McGee felt some of his teammates got a bit star-struck.

"Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes, they see LeBron out there. They see D-Wade out there," McGee said. "They say: `Oh my God, he's going to work on them."'

The comical highlight came late in the first half when Booker corralled a loose ball under the basket with no one around, but it slipped out of his hands as he went up for the dunk. He stared at his palms as he started upcourt, even as the Heat were racing ahead for one of those Wade-to-James dunks.

Washington pulled within one after an 11-0 run in the third quarter, but the Heat responded with a 10-4 stretch that included a layup from Wade and a three-point play from James.

"You can tell they've played together a while," Wittman said. "They find each other incredibly well."

Notes: Miami F Shane Battier scored a season-high 15 points. ... Heat G Mario Chalmers returned after the Orlando loss with a sprained left hand, but he failed to score in 25 minutes. ... Wizards F Rashard Lewis missed his third straight game with a sore left knee. ... The Wizards had their first sellout of the season.

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Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Notebook: Heat 106, Wizards 89

Posted Friday February 10, 2012 11:37PM

By Rich Dubroff, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 24 and had 11 rebounds and LeBron James had 18 to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-89 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Wade and James combined for the last 18 points of the second quarter as Miami took a 52-42 halftime lead. Washington closed to within 64-63 with 3:14 to play in the third quarter. The Heat outscored the Wizards 19-5 to take an 83-68 lead with 9:51 to play. Miami won its ninth in the past 11.

JaVale McGee had a season-high 24 points for Washington, which dropped to 5-22. Nick Young added 22.

QUOTABLE: "It was very fun. That's why we play this game. He makes me look good, so I think that's what the fans came to see. They love to see their favorite players do amazing things."
-- Wade on the series of highlight plays he and James combined on late in the first half

THE STAT: Wade and Bosh scored 20 or more points in the same game for just the second time this season. Wade, Bosh and James haven't scored 20 or more in the same game this season.

TURNING POINT: When the Wizards got within a point, supporting players chipped in on the 19-5 run. James had five, Bosh four, but Mike Miller had two 3-pointers and rookie Norris Cole had four points.

QUOTABLE II: "Nobody wants to see that show going against you. I thought we had a little bit of a show of our own."
-- Washington coach Randy Wittman on his team trying to match Miami's spectacular plays.

HOT: The Heat's Shane Battier added a season-high 15 points on 6-for-9 from the field. He was 3-for-6 from the 3-point line.

NOT: Wizards guard Jordan Crawford missed 10 of 12 from the field. In his last two games, Crawford is just 4-for-22.

GOOD MOVE: Miami coach Erik Spoelstra played Battier in the fourth quarter, and he secured the win with 10 fourth-quarter points.

BAD MOVE: Washington rookie Chris Singleton trying to guard James. He looked helpless. McGee admitted that sometimes his teammates look starstruck. "Sometimes, they see LeBron out there. They see D-Wade out there. They say: 'Oh my God, he's going to work on them.' Sometimes the guys don't go out there and play like they're any other play," McGee said.

NOTABLE: The Wizards shot just 4-for-21 from the 3-point line. In their last two games, they're just 6-for-38 from long range.

IN THE ARENA: The Heat drew the first sellout of the season to the Verizon Center -- 20,282 -- and most were cheering for Miami

UP NEXT: For the Heat: Sunday @ Atlanta, Monday @ Milwaukee, Tuesday @ Indiana; For the Wizards: Sunday @ Detroit, Tuesday @ Portland, Wednesday @ L.A. Clippers

• Heat: Harris
• Wizards: Turiaf

• Heat: --
• Wizards: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #6 Tony Brown, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 20282
• Duration: 2:11