Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat nearly blow lead again
Washington’s Beal misses jump shot in game’s final seconds
What does a 25-point lead get you in the NBA? To the Miami Heat, nothing more than a thrill ride.
Having previously blown such a lead before coming back for a victory against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Heat returned to the script in Friday night’s 91-88 victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
This time there was a lockdown first half, limiting Washington to 29 points over those 24 minutes, the lowest-scoring first half of any team this season.
But even on a night Wizards guard John Wall couldn’t hit a shot until the latter stages, the Heat again could not withstand prosperity.
So even with Hassan Whiteside closing with 22 points and 16 rebounds, and with James Johnson returning closer to last season’s form, with 20 points, there was nothing but a competitive close.
The game effectively ended on a missed Bradley Beal jumper with less than a second to play. The Heat then went to the line with two-tenths of a second to play, Justise Winslow converting one of the foul shots to close out the scoring. Beal led the Wizards with 26 points. After rallying from a seven point deficit in Wednesday’s victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Wizards this time closed within 84-80 with just over two minutes to play.
Whiteside then scored on a tip-in for an 86-80 Heat lead, but the Heat yielded a Wall 3-pointer with 70 seconds to play, as Washington moved within 86-83.
The Heat, as they did a week earlier in Utah, then went to Dion Waiters for a 3-pointer, only to have it matched by a Beal 3-pointer with 46 seconds to play.
Waiters then was off with a long jumper, with Otto Porter then getting to the line with 11.3 seconds left. He made both free throws to make it a one-point game.
The Heat then called their final timeout, with Johnson fouled with 6.5
seconds to play.
At 3 of 4 from the line to that stage, Johnson was true just with the first foul shots, leading the Heat up 90-88 when the Wizards called their final timeout with 5.8 seconds to play, setting up what would prove to be Beal’s missed jumper.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t mess around with rest at the top of the fourth quarter after the Wizards closed within five, reinserting both Whiteside and Goran Dragic with 9:32 to play, earlier than he typically had been substituting them back in.
Whiteside then converted a relief basket on a post move to help the Heat push their lead back to eight, with another Whiteside basket making the lead 10.
But a three-shot foul against Jodie Meeks allowed the Wizards to get back within 72-65 and a Meeks 3-pointer then drawing Washington to within 72-68, with Wall still scoreless to that stage.
That’s when Waiters stepped up with a 3-pointer for a 75-68 Heat lead, only to be countered by Wall’s first basket, a 3-pointer with 5:25 left, after his 0-for-7 start from the field.
The Wizards trimmed what had been a 25-point Heat lead to 12 late in the third period before James Johnson scored five consecutive points to create a bit of breathing room.
But with Beal loading up with three 3-pointers and 14 points in the third period, the Wizards closed within 66-57 going into the fourth quarter, after a 16-point period by the Heat.
The Heat pushed to a 25-point lead in the second period and went into halftime up 50-29, limiting the Wizards to 12-of-42 shooting in the first half, including 0 for 13 on 3-pointers.
The 29 points were the fewest allowed by a team at halftime this season, with the Wizards previously having scored at least 49 first-half points in their previous games.
The NBA low for any half this season were the 25 the Heat limited the Utah Jazz to in the second half a week earlier.
The Heat had 19 fastbreak points at halftime, three more than they had in any regulation game this season.
The first point from either Wall or Beal did not come until Beal scored on a drive with 5:16 left in the second period, after the Heat previously went up by 21. Wall stood scoreless at halftime on 0-for-5 shooting.
With Beal and Wall scoreless on combined 0-for-5 shooting in the opening period, the Heat went into the second period up 26-17, after pushing to an early 13-point lead.
Whiteside had five points and five rebounds in the first quarter for the Heat before being sidelined with that second foul.
The Heat again opened with Whiteside at center, Winslow and Josh Richardson at forward, and Dragic and Waiters at guard.
Spoelstra, however, stayed with his starting lineup for only 76 seconds. No sooner did power forward Markieff Morris score the Wizards’ first two baskets against Winslow, then Winslow was lifted with 10:44 remaining in the opening period in favor of James Johnson, with Johnson possessing the superior reach.
James Johnson went out for early shooting before the game and then nailed his first 3-point attempt.
Spoelstra was forced to further adjust, when Whiteside was called for his second foul with 4:22 to play in the opening period. By that point, Dragic and Waiters were the only Heat starters still on the court.
The game completed the set of consecutive games against the Wizards, with the Heat falling 102-93 Wednesday against Washington at AmericanAirlines Arena, unable to hold a late seven-point lead in that loss.
The Heat for the second consecutive game dressed only 12 players, one below the allowable maximum, with Rodney McGruder and Okaro White away from the team following recent surgeries and A.J. Hammons, Derrick Walton Jr. and Matt Williams Jr. on G League assignment with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
It was the first of two Heat visits this season to Washington, with the teams also to meet at the former Verizon Center) on March 6.
The Heat won both of their visits to Washington last season.
Whiteside entered averaging 21.3 points and 18 rebounds over his previous six games against the Wizards, with a double-double in each.