The Miami HEAT fell to the Washington Wizards 102-93 Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Goran Dragić led the way for the HEAT with 21 points.
1. 7-11 Goes Off In The Third
With Miami trailing by 12 entering the third quarter, Dragić and Dion Waiters went to work. In fact, the duo combined for 15 points in the period (all off 3-pointers) and helped give the HEAT a 74-71 lead entering the fourth.
In that final period, Dragić went right at Tim Frazier with some shots in the post early on….
…while Waiters came through with this tough drive:
Waiters finished with 19 points, five assists and a team-high plus-five rating. Dragić, meanwhile, tallied four rebounds and two assists to go along with his team-high 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
2. J. Rich Strong On The Defensive End
While Josh Richardson didn’t score that much against Washington, he hung in tough on the defensive end against John Wall, Bradley Beal, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Markieff Morris.
In fact, the 24-year-old had this nice steal on Beal late in the first quarter:
That said, Richardson’s best defensive sequence came early in the third quarter when he fought hard against Morris, deflected a pass from Otto Porter Jr. and then drew a charge on Morris:
Richardson ended up with four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
3. TJ Provides A Spark
Tyler Johnson provided a much-needed boost in the first half with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, as he moved very well off the ball to get open looks. On the flip side of the ball, Johnson competed hard against Wall, Oubre Jr., Frazier and even Beal when he was matched up with him at times.
One of Johnson’s better defensive sequences came late in the third when he fought through two screens near the top of the key and still managed to swat Wall’s layup attempt:
In all, Johnson tallied 15 points, two boards and two assists to go along with that block.
Other Takeaways:
-Hassan Whiteside had a nice game on the glass and finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 21 rebounds (four offensive).
Game Note:
-Okaro White (left foot fracture) sat out. Rodney McGruder (left tibia surgery), Derrick Walton Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment), A.J. Hammons (Sioux Falls assignment) and Matt Williams Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will match up with the Wizards again on Friday in Washington D.C. After that, Miami returns home to face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at 5:00 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.