Takeaways from a dominant Heat win over Wizards. And the latest on Dragic’s sprained ankle
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 122-95 win over the Washington Wizards (5-14) on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena. It marked only the Heat’s second win in the past nine games, as it closed its six-game homestand with a 2-4 record.
The Heat (8-14) has been one of the worst first-quarter teams in the NBA this season, so coach Erik Spoelstra made a change to the starting lineup. The results were positive.
Spoelstra moved veteran guard Goran Dragic into the starting lineup and second-year guard Tyler Herro to the bench.
The Heat’s new starting lineup of Dragic, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo had not played together this season before Friday’s game. And this five-man combination only played 20 minutes together last regular season and two minutes together during the playoff run.
It’s already the 15th different starting lineup the Heat has used in 22 games this season.
The switch worked Friday, with the Heat opening the game with a 15-9 lead before making its first substitution. That led to Miami outscoring Washington 40-27 in the first quarter.
The Heat’s starting lineup of Dragic, Robinson, Butler, Olynyk and Adebayo finished Friday’s win with a plus/minus of plus-11 in 12 minutes together.
“I feel great with those two guys,” Dragic said of playing alongside Adebayo and Butler. “I already know what they’re going to do. I have great chemistry with Jimmy. I keep looking for him on offense. I just know how to play with him.”
The starting lineup used against the Wizards is similar to the one Miami went with for most of the playoffs last season: Dragic, Robinson, Butler, Jae Crowder and Adebayo. Olynyk started Friday in place of Crowder, who left the Heat to sign with the Phoenix Suns as a free agent this past offseason.
Friday’s strong start is encouraging for the Heat, which entered with the league’s third-worst first-quarter net rating. Before its win over Washington, Miami had been outscored by a combined total of 70 points in first quarters this season.
That’s a big difference from last season, when the Heat posted the NBA’s best first-quarter net rating and outscored teams by a combined total of 240 points in the opening period.
Friday marked just the second time this season that the Heat has finished the first quarter with a double-digit lead. That start led to Miami’s first double-digit win in a month.
The night wasn’t perfect for the Heat, though. Dragic exited Friday’s win in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return.
The Heat said X-rays returned negative, but his status for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden is up in the air. Spoelstra said following Friday’s contest that he was unsure if Dragic would be able to travel with the team to New York on Saturday.
“It happened on defense,” Dragic said of the injury. “I was trying to contain [Russell] Westbrook and the leg just ... I twisted my ankle. So it swelled up. It hurts right now, so I don’t know how bad it is. We’ll see tomorrow. Overnight, it’s going to be crucial.”
Dragic, 34, recorded nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes before the injury. Friday marked his third game back after missing three consecutive games with a strained left groin.
The Heat’s defense, which has received criticism this season, was dominant on Friday. Just ask Wizards star guard Bradley Beal.
Miami limited a decent Washington offense to 95 points on 37.1 percent shooting from the field and 8-of-33 shooting on threes. The Wizards entered with the 12th-best offensive rating in the NBA this season.
Washington totaled just 43 points on 31.8 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-17 shooting on threes in the first half.
“A lot more multiple efforts,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s defense Friday. “We had really good multiple efforts in the last two games, we just weren’t able to sustain it long enough. Tonight we sustained it much better for longer periods of time.”
A big reason for the Wizards’ offensive struggles? Beal turned in the worst shooting performance of his NBA career.
Beal, who entered Friday averaging a league-high 34.8 points per game this season, finished with seven points on 1-of-14 shooting in 27 minutes. The Heat loaded up against Beal, putting multiple defenders in front of him whenever possible.
“I’m human,” Beal said. “Every human being is due for a bad day. They made it tough. They double-, triple-teamed a lot. A lot of shots I had, I didn’t love them. They did a really good job of defending.”
Beal scored just four points on 0-of-12 shooting from the field in the first half. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Beal tied O.J. Mayo for the most attempts in a half without a make in the last 25 seasons.
“Anybody but [Beal],” Adebayo said of the Heat’s defensive strategy against the Wizards. “He’s one of the premier scorers in this league right now, so he’s the focal point of their team. That’s a talent right there. Our biggest thing was just trying to contain that type of talent.”
Friday was one of the Heat’s best defensive performances of the season. Miami allowed 94.1 points per 100 possessions, which is its third-best single-game defensive rating of the season.
The Heat’s offense was also impressive Friday behind a balanced attack.
Miami put together its most efficient performance of the season, finishing with 122 points on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, 16-of-37 (43.2 percent) shooting on threes and 20-of-23 (87 percent) shooting from the foul line.
Friday marked just the fourth time since the start of the 2016-17 season that the Heat has finished a game with a team shooting percentage of 49 percent or better, a team three-point percentage of 43 percent or better and a team free-throw percentage of 85 percent or better.
Miami did it behind five double-digit scorers, with its duo of Adebayo (21 points, four rebounds and three assists) and Butler (14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists) combining for 35 points on just 17 shots. Olynyk contributed 17 points with the help of 5-of-7 shooting on threes.
In the win, the Heat posted its best single-game offensive rating of the season with 122 points scored per 100 possessions.
But it didn’t come against the toughest competition, with the Wizards entering with the league’s second-worst defensive rating.
Friday’s performance was important, though, after what happened in Wednesday’s painful loss to the Wizards. Miami scored just 35 points on 29.3 percent shooting in the second half of that game against Washington’s usually bad defense.
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn again made the most of his opportunity, and Herro was solid in his first appearance off the bench this season.
Nunn’s minutes on Friday marked his first since Jan. 28, as he had not played in three consecutive games despite being available.
Nunn finished with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting, to go with eight rebounds, one assist and two steals in 32 minutes off the bench.
“It is tough,” Nunn said of staying ready despite a string of three consecutive DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) leading into Friday’s game “We are professionals. It is our job to do that. I am built to do that. Whether it is starting, coming off the bench, DNP’s or whatever. Whatever minutes I get, I will always be ready for.
“I think I have given them some trust to be able to trust me, to call on me whenever. I will produce. I believe the coaches trust me.”
With reserve guard Avery Bradley expected to miss the next three to four weeks with a strained right calf, there should be more consistent playing time for Nunn.
In Nunn’s past eight appearances, he has averaged 18.6 points on 50.4 percent shooting from the field.
Herro, who started in his first 14 appearances this season, was moved to the bench Friday and finished with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, four rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes.
This is not a new role for Herro, who spent most of his rookie season playing off the bench. He started only eight regular-season games last season.
“It’s not an indictment on anyone,” Spoelstra said of moving Herro to the bench. “We’re just trying to stabilize it as much as we can. It’s certainly not an indictment on Tyler. He’s going to play starter’s minutes, regardless. He just has to manage whatever the narratives that are out there and continue to give us productive minutes. He’s getting better. His defense was good tonight, and offensively we need his skill set.”
The Heat’s bench rotation on Friday included Herro, Nunn, Andre Iguodala and Precious Achiuwa. With Miami already in control, Max Strus, KZ Okpala and Gabe Vincent entered the game in the fourth quarter.
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 12:35 AM.
