The Miami HEAT fell to the Washington Wizards 117-113 in overtime Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 22 points.
1. Wade Does All He Can Late
There’s nothing quite like Dwyane Wade in crunch time.
With Miami in an uphill battle all evening, Wade really went to work late and tallied 11 points and three assists in the fourth quarter and overtime period combined.
While this fantastic finish in transition and ensuing free throw forced OT….
…nothing touches this sequence where he dove over the scorer’s table to retrieve a blocked shot from Hassan Whiteside and set up a finish for Justise Winslow on the other end:
As you can see, Wade laid it all on the line.
In addition to his team-high 22 points, the 36-year-old also had a team-high six assists.
2. TJ Comes Alive
After a quiet outing on Monday in his return from injury, Tyler Johnson played like a man on a mission in the nation’s capital.
How so?
Well, the 25-year-old attacked the basket quite often and did a lot of damage off the dribble against the Wizards. In particular, Johnson got going in the second quarter with eight points to help keep the HEAT in it.
Naturally, one of his better sequences of the game came on back-to-back possessions in the period.
He played so well through the first two quarters that Coach Spo started him in the second half, where TJ continued to put pressure on Washington’s defense with more attacks and a couple treys.
In all, Johnson had 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
3. Winslow Keeps It Up
What a tear Winslow has been on recently.
While we all know what the 21-year-old brings defensively, his contributions on the offensive end have been just as important.
That rang true once again on Tuesday, as Winslow continued to show improved touch around the rim and finished a bunch of plays in transition, such as this one:
On the defensive end, Winslow was versatile as usual and guarded multiple guys, including Bradley Beal, Markieff Morris, Otto Porter Jr. and Mike Scott.
That’s the Swiss Army knife for you.
When it was all said and done, Winslow totaled 15 points, six boards and a plus-12 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-In addition to leading Miami with three made treys, Josh Richardson really competed hard against Beal on the defensive end down the stretch and forced him into a miss at the end of regulation.
J. Rich finished with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, three steals, two boards and two assists.
Game Note:
-Jordan Mickey, Derrick Jones Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment), Wayne Ellington (left quad contusion) and Dion Waiters (left ankle surgery) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will now head back home to face the 76ers on Thursday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.