The Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards, 113-105, despite their best efforts to cut a 21-point deficit. The Wizards lost because they struggled in several areas where the Heat thrived. The defensive plan, first and foremost, did not appear to work in the first half as Kyle Lowry quickly got hot, scoring 24 of his 28 points in that period.
Washington trailed by 17 points at the half, then came back to tie the game by scoring 37 points in the third period after only scoring 17 in the first. It was more of a competitive contest than a rout after their offensive scoring cut their deficit to three in the third quarter. The offense was launched by Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, and Deni Avdija, who had a career-high night with ten assists and was one rebound short of a triple-double.
Both teams could exchange points in the fourth quarter, but Miami appeared to have a slight advantage in field goal attempts due to Washington’s inability to hit threes consistently. Tyler Herro’s consecutive successful three-point attempts gave the Heat a 107-101 lead, prompting Coach Wes Unseld Jr. to call a timeout. To secure the victory, the Heat held Washington winless for the remainder of the match after Kuzma made the driving lay-up with a little less than 2 minutes left in the fourth.
In addition, the Wizards were outrebounded 53-43 overall and attempted 19 free throws, making only 11.
Porzingis scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in addition to Kuzma’s 33 points. On the night, Avdija finished with 12 points, ten assists, and nine rebounds. Will Barton scored 13 points off the bench, had seven assists, and pulled down seven rebounds.
Three other Heat starters, including Caleb Martin with 24 points, scored double figures besides Lowry. Herro had 17 points and five three-pointers to conclude the game, while Bam Adebayo recorded a double-double.
The season series is even at one game each, and Washington will have a chance to move up 2-1 on Friday, November 25, when they take on the Heat one more in Miami. ET.