The Washington Wizards came up short against the Miami Heat, losing 115-109. The team falls further and further behind in the playoff race.
Bradley Beal led the Washington Wizards with 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. He had some big shots at the end of the game but the Miami Heat made to many key plays to secure the victory.
Trevor Ariza added 21 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds. In 21 minutes of play, Otto Porter produced 14 points and 6 rebounds on the bench. Overall he played well, but went 0-5 from beyond the arc, which hurt him playing more than 21 minutes.
Tomas Satoransky and Thomas Bryant had mediocre games scoring a combined 18 points. Satoransky only had 3 assists and Bryant only had 5 rebounds. Not exactly the production they been producing the past few games.
For the Heat, Hassan Whiteside scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Josh Richardson added 18 points as well. Miami had 6 players in double figures and this is the first time the team is over .500 since October.
Washington was dominated in the paint as the Heat scored the majority of their points there. In addition, they lost the rebounding battle by 7 (48-41). Despite this, the Wizards still gave themselves a chance at winning forcing 17 turnovers, but couldn’t capitalize on it.
This was a game that Washington needed to win against their Division foes and to make up ground in the Eastern Conference. From display, the team doesn’t have enough firepower or star power to make a strong push at a playoff spot.
The Wizards are now 4-17 on the road and take on the Oklahoma City Thunder next. Following this, they face the Philadelphia 76ers in back to back games. Not an easy schedule and it looks as though the team will fall further behind.