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 Describing how the Wizards had dismantled what had been the NBA's
No. 1 defense in terms of lowest shooting percentage allowed, Heat
coach Erik Spoelstra said: "Speed, speed, smaller lineup, smaller
lineup, more speed.
"It felt like they were going downhill most of the game, and we
couldn't get them to flatten out."
The Wizards were without center Marcin Gortat, who was back in
Poland with his sick mother, and forwards Nene and Drew Gooden, who
both have calf injuries.
In addition, three Wizards played hurt -- John Wall (knee), Gary
Neal (groin) and Kris Humphries (ankle).
Wall and Neal, though, did not look hurt.
Wall had 26 points and seven assists, and Neal contributed 21 points
off the bench.
"John is one of the toughest players I've ever seen," Wizards coach
Randy Wittman said of Wall.
"It takes a lot for him to miss a game. If you remember last year in
the playoffs, it took five broken bones in his hand before he was
going to sit out a game."
Neal, who signed with the Wizards in July, fell just two points off
his season high.
"Gary was big off the bench," Wittman said. "He was probably the
most consistent guy we had throughout the game."
Bradley Beal scored 21 points and had perhaps the game's biggest
play. With 1:59 left in the game and the score tied 103-103, Beal
stole the ball at midcourt from Heat guard Dwyane Wade and drove in
for a dunk.
Neal then added a three-pointer and a layup to put Washington up
110-103 with 34.9 seconds left.
Wade had 26 points and nine assists, and Goran Dragic had a
season-high 20 points and nine assists.
"We played a bad game," Wade said. "It wasn't about the offensive
end. We gave up 114 points. It was all about the defensive end of
the floor."
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True to Wade's point, Miami lost despite shooting 59.4 percent from
the floor. But the Heat allowed Washington to shoot 50 percent
overall and nine of 18 three-pointers.
Miami received 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Chris
Bosh, who was upset with the officiating and was ejected in the
final minute.
The Wizards (9-10) also got 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds
from Otto Porter. Eight of his rebounds came in the first quarter.
Miami (12-7) concluded a disappointing 2-2 homestand and have not
managed a three-game win streak since March 2014.
The Wizards, who led by as many as 14 points in the first half, took
a 29-19 lead after the opening quarter.
"Right from the start," Spoelstra said, "they had us on our heels,
driving and kicking. We couldn't get them to play uphill. They
really attacked the paint like we haven't been attacked all year."
Miami cut the deficit to 60-55 at halftime. The Heat's 36 points in
the second quarter was Miami's best offensive period of the season.
Miami led by as many as seven in the third quarter before the
Wizards rallied to take an 87-84 advantage into the fourth.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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Wizards
feel the need for speed, beat Heat
