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 Swingman Rasual Butler scored 23 points and guard John Wall had
18 points and 13 assists as the Washington Wizards blitzed the Miami
Heat for a 107-86 victory on Monday night.
Center Marcin Gortat had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards
(10-5), who led the Heat by as many as 25 points and by double
digits throughout.
Butler made three 3-pointers off the bench to help the Wizards to
their largest margin of victory this season. Washington had 29
assists on 39 field goals and Wall's 13 topped Miami's combined
total of 12.
Center Chris Bosh scored 21 points and guard Dwyane Wade had 20
points for the Heat (9-8). Miami had won three of its last four
games, including an 86-79 victory on the road against the New York
Knicks Sunday.
Whether from tired legs or Washington's relentless defense, the Heat
labored shooting from beyond the arc. Miami did shoot 60 percent
from the field before halftime, but finished 2 of 22 on 3-point
shots, missing all 12 attempts in the second half. The Heat entered
as the top 3-point shooting percentage team in the league,
Miami also went 18 of 30 from the free throw line, yet guarding Wall
and the Wizards was the toughest challenge. Washington made all
seven of its 3-point attempts in the first half and drained 10
overall.
 "To win against a quality opponent, to give yourself a chance to win
on the road, you have to have grittiness, a real disposition," Miami
coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was much different than our
disposition in New York."
As the season nears the quarter-pole, Bosh prefers less talk and
more action.
"I hate that word, disposition. It's not about disposition," Bosh
stated. "It's just about -- I don't know, man. It's about getting
the job done. That's it. We make mistakes trying to have vocabulary
and stuff. Just get the job done. Go out there. We're failing to do
that."
Washington has won two straight, both without Nene, and improved to
7-2 at home.
Led by Butler, the Wizards' bench tallied 54 points.
"A lot of people contributed from the bench and I'm glad that we
really played the game the right way," Gortat said.
Drafted by the Heat in 2002, the 35-year-old Butler made
Washington's roster out of training camp. He has scored 23 points in
two of his last three games.
"The guy was drafted [by Miami] and they let him go," Gortat noted.
"What other motivation do you need?
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The energetic Wizards led 30-22 after the first quarter and
opened the second with a 7-0 run and scored a season-high 64 points
in the first half. The margin never dipped back into single digits
and ballooned to 95-70 in the fourth quarter. Wall recorded a
double-double in the first half and sat out the final period.
"Every time we tried, they made shots," Wade said. "Whether it was a
defensive breakdown, or whether they just continued to make shots.
They earned the win. They wanted it, and they got it."
The Heat, winners of four straight Southeast Division titles,
defeated the Wizards at home on Oct. 29 in the opening game of the
season for both teams.
Wade missed seven games with a left hamstring injury before scoring
27 points in Sunday's win at New York. The All-Star guard and Bosh
combined to shoot 18 of 27 from the field. Their teammates went 15
of 45.
The Wizards shot 64 percent (24 of 38) from the field in the first
half. Wall had 11 points and 10 assists entering halftime. He banked
in a 3-pointer ending the first quarter, and his fade-away jumper at
the buzzer gave Washington a 64-49 halftime lead.
"Against those guys you definitely have to move the ball a lot,"
Wall said. "We wasn't caring about who was getting shots."
Notes: Nene missed his fourth straight game (right plantar
fasciitis) and fifth this season. The power forward was suspended
for the 107-95 loss at Miami. ... Guard Mario Chalmers had 11 points
for the Heat. ... The Wizards recorded nine wins in November, their
most in any month since March of 2012. ... Dwyane Wade scored 21
points in the Heat's 107-95 home win over the Wizards on Oct. 29.
... Miami returns home to face the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday before
embarking on a five-game road trip. ... The Wizards host Kobe Bryant
and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
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