February 10th Game Recap: Wizards vs. Heat

Wizards Fall to Heat

Despite double-doubles from JaVale McGee, John Wall, and Trevor Booker, the Wizards fell to the Heat, 106-89, on Friday night at Verizon Center.

The Wizards hung right with the Heat for much of the game and brought the game to within one point in the 3rd quarter, but they did not have enough left in the tank in the fourth and the Heat would be too much for them in the end.

JaVale McGee looked to be back in form and was the aggressive big man that we saw earlier in the season. McGee ended up with 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wizards.

John Wall and Trevor Booker each continued their fine play, notching double-doubles (Wall: 15 points, 10 assists....Booker: 13 points, 15 rebounds) and keeping the Wizards close for a good portion of the game.

Dwyane Wade led the heat with 26 points in the win.

The Wizards now prepare for a five-game road trip beginning in Detroit on Sunday and ending up out on the West Coast for the remainder. Sunday's tip-off scheduled for 6pm in Detroit.

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Highlights

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Postgame

WIZARDS GUARD JOHN WALL:

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On Miami’s defense:

“You have to give credit to their team. They’re a great defensive team and that’s why they were in the Finals. They stopped us down the stretch and made plays offensively. We couldn’t get anything going offensively – shot clock violations and turning the ball over. They just increased their lead.”

On the Wizards’ performance:

“We didn’t make the plays we needed to. We made careless mistakes, turned the ball over too much and shot the ball poorly as a team. When you shoot 38 percent it’s hard to beat a team like that.”

WIZARDS GUARD NICK YOUNG:

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On the game:

“We fought hard tonight. We just got outmatched by a great team and we could learn a lot from that. We missed a lot of shots we should have made. Missing open threes and layups didn’t help us either. Even though the score didn’t reflect our effort, I still think we can take a lot from this game.”

On the ‘Big Three’:

“It’s tough matching up against that team. They have a triple header when they have (LeBron) James, (Dwyane) Wade and Chris Bosh on the court at the same time. If they substitute one of those players out they always have a great scorer on the court.”

HEAT GUARD DWYANE WADE:

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On the game:

“Obviously, the bottom line is about the win, but we did some things that I felt that we could use from this game. We want to continue to run our sets, because we’re going to need them late in games and I thought we did a good job of executing and getting good shots. Not all of them went in, but we still got good shots.”

On the second-quarter run:

““It was very fun. That’s why you love to play this game. He (LeBron James) makes me look good.”

On an entertaining game:
“I think that’s what the fans came to see. They love to see their favorite players do amazing things. They got a chance to see that on both sides. Those guys (the Wizards) did some amazing things as well.”

HEAT FORWARD LEBRON JAMES:

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On the game:

“It was all about the defense tonight in the second half. We were communicating really well and had players that really stepped up tonight. We were able to rebound and box out really well. Offensively, we came down and moved the ball well from both sides. John (Wall) did a great job. He’s going through a rough time, but he’s a great player and is going to be a star in this league for a lot of years.”

On the long road trip:

“It was a tough trip, six games in 10 days, back-to-back. Every team has to do it, and the team I look forward to doing that with is this team. We expect every team to play strong against us and just keep that in mind every time to come out with a win.”

WIZARDS HEAD COACH RANDY WITTMAN:

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On tonight’s game:
“It is hard to beat an elite team like that when we are shooting 38 percent, on top of missing 11 free throws, but they fought. We scrapped. We came out and fought them. We will continue to move on.”

On the team’s defensive effort:

“We did what we could. Did we have breakdowns? Yes, and again as I have been saying for the past few weeks, we will take mistakes if they are aggressive. On our defensive effort, we fought. We have worked the last couple days on their zones. When we look at film tonight, we will be able to see where we were.”

On the upcoming road trip:
“We have to be in Detroit on Sunday and we have to go in there ready to compete and play hard from start to finish.”