WASHINGTON -- Dwyane Wade would prefer not to do things this way. His team left him no choice.

For the second time in as many nights, the Heat built a double-digit lead and seemed destined for a confidence-boosting victory. And for the second time in as many nights, Miami found a way to stumble down prosperity's slippery slope.

But unlike Tuesday's fall from ahead in a home loss to Phoenix, Wade helped his team avert a complete collapse.

Wade scored a season-high 40 points and made the game-winning jumper with 24.6 seconds left as the Heat escaped with a 93-89 victory over the Wizards at Verizon Center.

Wade played all 24 minutes of the second half -- a stunning feat considering it was the second night of a back-to-back set for Miami. But the Heat had few other options on a night when the offense again fell flat.

STAYING STRONG

There was no time for rest at that stage of the Heat's recovery mission.

``I looked at Dwyane, we had eye contact and he pretty much nodded his head at what I was about to ask him, to keep on going,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ``And we needed it.''

The Heat (4-1) needed every ounce of effort and scoring Wade provided against the Wizards (2-3), who turned an early a rout into a much-harder-than-it-probably-had-to be win for Miami.

The Heat led 27-8 and had every aspect of its game working early. But the Wizards gradually chipped away and led 89-87 on a driving layup with 1:30 left in the game. The combination of Wade's ability to close a game and Washington's blunders down the stretch allowed Miami to hold on and bounce back from Tuesday's loss to Phoenix.

After Tuesday's loss to the Suns, when guard Steve Nash scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, Wade said the two-time league MVP found a way to push his team to victory. Wade did the same on Wednesday.

``I'd like to spread the wealth,'' Wade said after shooting 14 of 26 from the field and 10 of 13 from the free-throw line Wednesday. ``But if I have to be more aggressive, then that's my job. This was one of those games where you have to will your team to victory. I had to take it upon myself to do it.''

Gilbert Arenas scored 32 points to lead the Wizards, who outscored the Heat 49-35 over the second and third quarters to emerge from a 19-point deficit. Miami dug in defensively the last two minutes of the game and held Washington to one field goal.

The Wizards shot just 37.8 percent from the field. It was the fourth Miami held its opponent below 41 percent. Wade didn't do it alone. He came through at the finish. Quentin Richardson had 19 points and nine rebounds, Udonis Haslem scored 13 points and Michael Beasley had 10.

TAKING OVER

Wade, who led the league in scoring at 30.2 points per game last season, said he wanted to take on less of a scoring role this season and distribute more to his teammates. That wasn't the case Wednesday.

``He had to step up and make plays for us,'' Haslem said. ``Shots haven't been falling that we usually make. We had to lean on him a lot more heavily than we'd like to. But in true Dwyane Wade fashion, he answered and did what we needed him to do.''

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