Miami (3-1) at Washington (2-2)

Mostly Cloudy Currently: Washington, DC
Temp: 53° F
  • Game info: 7:00 pm EST Wed Nov 4, 2009
  • TV: ESPN, CSMA

By MATT BECKER, STATS Senior Writer Nov 4, 2:11 am EST

Preview | Box Score | Recap

The Miami Heat won their first three games with solid defense, but they couldn’t slow down the league’s highest-scoring team last time out.

The Heat look to bounce back from their first loss and return to form on the defensive end Wednesday night when they visit a Washington Wizards team that has been inconsistent on offense.

Miami (3-1) was 12 minutes away from opening with four straight wins for the first time since 2004-05 before falling apart down the stretch in Tuesday’s 104-96 loss to Phoenix.

The Heat led 81-75 after three quarters but couldn’t come up with key stops as the Suns made 10 of 16 shots in the fourth.

Miami allowed Phoenix to shoot 50.6 percent from the floor and make 9 of 23 3-pointers (39.1 percent) after giving up an average of 87.7 points on 38.6 percent shooting - including 21.6 percent from beyond the arc - in its first three games.

“Our problem was with our defense and we need to get better with that,” said Quentin Richardson(notes), who scored 18 points against the Suns after totaling 13 in his first three games.

The Heat may also need to shore up some problems on the offensive end when faced with different defensive sets. Phoenix switched to a zone defense in the fourth quarter Tuesday, and Miami missed 18 of 23 shots in the period.

“We didn’t execute well against the zone,” said Dwyane Wade(notes), who had 23 points along with season highs of nine rebounds and seven assists. “It’s a different wrinkle that you’re not used to seeing. It’s still early in the season and we have to do a lot of practice on that. We’ll be better next time.”

Wade and the Heat hope to get back on track against a Wizards team coming off its worst offensive performance of the season.

After connecting on 61.5 percent of its shots in Saturday’s 123-104 victory over New Jersey, Washington (2-2) shot 39.1 percent in a 102-90 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday. The Wizards led by four at halftime but were limited to 36 second-half points.

“I think when we play how we want to play, execute, trust each other, we’re pretty good,” Washington coach Flip Saunders said. “When we don’t do that, when we start doing too much, we get stagnant. When you’re not scoring, it affects you defensively, it sucks the energy out of you sometimes.”

The Wizards have struggled to stick with this game plan.

Alternating wins and losses, Washington is averaging 112.5 points on 53.7 percent shooting in its two victories but 89.5 points on 41.9 percent shooting in the two defeats.

Caron Butler(notes) got off to a fast start Tuesday with 17 first-half points and finished with 22, tied with Gilbert Arenas(notes) for the team lead.

Butler, back after missing one game with a bruised left knee, is averaging 25.7 points on 58.7 percent shooting in his last three home games against Miami, the team with which he spent his first two NBA seasons.

Arenas, averaging 26.5 points through four games, has missed eight of the last nine games in this series due to various left knee injuries.

The Heat swept the four-game season series from the Wizards last season, outscoring them by an average of 15.7 points.

With Miami easily winning those games, it didn’t have to rely much on Wade. The five-time All-Star averaged 22.5 points against Washington - 7.7 points below his league-leading average and his third-worst mark against any opponent last season.

Updated Nov 4, 2:11 am EST
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Team Comparison

Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Miami 8-5 3rd Southeast / 6th East 96.8 95.2 Road 2-2 Won 1 5-5
Washington 4-9 5th Southeast / 13th East 96.6 101.6 Home 3-3 Won 1 2-8

Notes

Miami rookie coach Erik Spoelstra got a rough initiation to the playoff game. He called three timeouts during the second quarter in a futile attempt to slow the Hawks, but all that seemed to do was give them a little extra rest so they could keep on running. ... G Dwyane Wade scored 19 points - 11 below his NBA-leading average - and only one other Miami even reached double figures as the Hawks tied a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a playoff game.

Apr 19, 11:08 pm EDT

F Caron Butler scored a season-high 39 points but couldn't keep the Wizards from matching their worst record for an 82-game season, 19-63, last in the Eastern Conference. ... Washington's Javaris Crittenton did not return after spraining his right ankle with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

Apr 15, 11:24 pm EDT
NBA

26 Comments

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  1. Derrick
    26. Posted by Derrick Sat Nov 7 11:43am EST

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    Dwade is the best the game has to offer period!!!!!
  2. <i>black_man_hungry</i>
    25. Posted by black_man_hungry Fri Nov 6 11:34pm EST

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    The wizards are and always will be garbage why don't they just forfiet all victories to their opponets!!!
  3. Gabriel Rockman
    24. Posted by Gabriel Rockman Thu Nov 5 7:54pm EST

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    As always, Gilbert Arenas is a ball hog who takes way too many shots. He's a poor man's version of Allen Iverson. Great scorer, horrible shooter, gets the line a lot, cares about himself too much, and will never lead his team to success.
  4. Steven
    23. Posted by Steven Thu Nov 5 6:25pm EST

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    wade is gonna have a good time when he joins the knicks next year.
  5. lansingJN
    22. Posted by lansingJN Thu Nov 5 5:35pm EST

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    Wade, James, Bryant, all score the easiest, most unchallenged 40 points per game I have ever seen. The one year, or no years of college basketball experience league has spawned a generation of players that lack the basic fundamentals of defense. Multi years in a collegiate program that emphasizes team defense, would give the NBA smarter, better, ballplayers. Kobe Bryant as a consistent member of the all defensive team? LOL.
  6. lem
    21. Posted by lem Thu Nov 5 3:59pm EST

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    d-wade is amazing!!!!!!!!
  7. nicolaa
    20. Posted by nicolaa Thu Nov 5 3:44pm EST

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    Just another show from the greatest player in the NBA today..
  8. MIKES
    19. Posted by MIKES Thu Nov 5 3:40pm EST

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    please pat riley...get this guy some help...even mj needed sum help...this d wade is great dont burn him out...
  9. emily
    18. Posted by emily Thu Nov 5 3:28pm EST

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    wizards made a mistake firing eddie jordan
  10. HELLO
    17. Posted by HELLO Thu Nov 5 12:07pm EST

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    D wade has a SWEET Jumper right now. Looking like he did when they won the Title. Too bad he is alone on that team.

    D wade respect for that Sweet jumper dude. It is the best in the NBA right now. You and Paul are both playing better offensivly than Lebron and Kobe right now.

    Sick shooting percentages guys.
  11. <i>bencamerondavis@...</i>
    16. Posted by bencamerondavis@... Thu Nov 5 11:45am EST

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    Guess what team showed up at least seven times in the top 20 games last season?? DWYANE WADE AND THE MIAMI HEAT... Guess who had the game that ranked Number 1?? DWYANE WADE AND THE MIAMI HEAT?? Let's start being honest with ourselves people... Most fans dedicated themselves as LeBron fans, and they don't want to admit that they like the Cavs, didn't quite make the right decision.... and Laker Fans just hate to see that there could actually be a guard who can dethrone Kobe b4 he retires....

    Give respect where respect is due... The Truth of the matter is that Gilbert usually give Kobe trouble, he gives LeBron trouble, and he gives Wade trouble... the difference is Wade always find a way to beat Arenas... I think that Arenas would even admit that Wade has been the best in the league for the past few years...
  12. NJAI
    15. Posted by NJAI Thu Nov 5 10:01am EST

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    where is the Wiz. team my boy drop 40 point D wade 4 mvp
  13. Michael
    14. Posted by Michael Thu Nov 5 10:01am EST

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    “It’s amazing as bad as we were in the first quarter they only scored 93 in the game,” Washington coach Flip Saunders said.

    What's really amazing is that an NBA team hired as big a loser as Flipper. I say the over / under on this blank wall being fired is February 20.
  14. Monique
    13. Posted by Monique Thu Nov 5 9:39am EST

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    why is the game on tv!!!
  15. Carlo
    12. Posted by Carlo Thu Nov 5 8:23am EST

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    I know Kobe and LeBron are beasts, but man since the Olympics D-Wade has looked like the best of the 3.
  16. BMW
    11. Posted by BMW Thu Nov 5 6:39am EST

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    Wade is the best all around offensive guard the NBA has seen in a long time. The advantage I give him over KOBE is that if a team is talented enough, he can play long stretches at the point. Even at the 2, last season he was 8th in the league in assists, while leading the league in scoring. The ironic thing about it, is Wade does NOT dominate the ball possession as much as other players, but still gets a lot of assists, because more than once a game, he is making passes that YMCA players could finish! Although I like KOBE, he is more of a one-dimensional scorer. KOBE is still awesome on defense, but WADE is also under rated as a defender. Announcer's last night were saying WADE's teammate had more skills coming in the league that WADE were completely wrong. They need to look at the play off during his first year in which he out dueled Baron Davis in a 7 game series!
  17. <i>eliboy_entdoc</i>
    10. Posted by eliboy_entdoc Thu Nov 5 4:51am EST

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    m-v-3.
  18. Jovan
    9. Posted by Jovan Thu Nov 5 1:08am EST

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    @lind: ya u better sleep coz i thnk u jz wnt lebron-kobe games in tv. buy ur own network dude!
  19. HOOK
    8. Posted by HOOK Thu Nov 5 12:14am EST

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    It seems like it is inevitable if a team gets a big early lead, that the losing team will come back. This was a good game that went down to the wire but the Heat were able to take it. For those that wanted to see the Phx VS Orl game on ESPN, I bet you are glad they didn't show that blow out. The Wizards just couldn't slow down D-Wade. That dude is a beast. I have him on my fantasy team but would have rather seen him play bad and the Wizards win than what he did tonight (Reality comes before fantasy).
  20. DC
    7. Posted by DC Wed Nov 4 11:41pm EST

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    I gotta say, Wade was pretty sick out there. If he keeps playin' like that, the Heat will be a force to reckon with in the playoffs (it's about time).

    This is comin' from a Laker fan.
  21. C Bear
    6. Posted by C Bear Wed Nov 4 10:56pm EST

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    My Boy D-Wade for MVP.
  22. <i>mr_macdaddy1914</i>
    5. Posted by mr_macdaddy1914 Wed Nov 4 10:39pm EST

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    @BasketballFan88. If anything your team is a bottem dweller. @Lind. Did you even watch the game? It became one in the 2nd quarter. Respect good basketball games period. Go Heat.
  23. RobP
    4. Posted by RobP Wed Nov 4 10:18pm EST

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    Ohh get over it ... This was a great game.. Moreso than the typical LeBron love fest..
    Too bad all the Washington teams can't live up to the preseason hype.
  24. Lind
    3. Posted by Lind Wed Nov 4 8:24pm EST

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    Why is this game on ESPN? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  25. BasketballFan88
    2. Posted by BasketballFan88 Wed Nov 4 1:38pm EST

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    Why is this a nationally televised game?

    the NBA should give ESPN flex powers otherwise games like Phoenix vs. Orlando nobody sees. What a thrilling game that could be. Phoenix is returning to form and Orlando is a east power house.

    Instead we see two bottom playoff teams in the East. Makes no sense.
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