Wizards-Heat Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 14 2012 11:33PM

Despite having an ice pack hugging his right shoulder, LeBron James insists he'll be on the court for the Miami Heat's next game.

He's also insisting that the latest defeat for his team wasn't a step back.

James and the Heat will try to avenge what was possibly their most embarrassing defeat of the season when they host the league-worst Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

Miami (14-6) fell 97-95 at home to Golden State on Wednesday. James was flagrantly fouled by David Lee in the second quarter and needed ice on his shoulder afterward.

"I'll be ready by Saturday," James vowed. "That's all that matters."

The Heat fell for the third time in five games, but James said there is not cause for concern after he had 31 points to extend his run of 20-point efforts to 25 consecutive games - the longest current streak in the NBA.

"It wasn't a step back," James said. "We played well, sometimes you don't win all those games you play well."

Miami fell to 2-2 on a six-game homestand after starting the season 8-0 at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

"It's an inordinate amount of time that we spend here at home and we should be able to take advantage of that," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We haven't done it quite the way we've liked to so we'll move onto the next game."

This homestand began after a surprising 105-101 defeat at Washington (3-17) on Dec. 4. The Heat wasted a triple-double by James, who had 26 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade scored 24.

Jordan Crawford scored a team-high 22 points off the bench for the Wizards, who expect the Heat to want to exact a measure of revenge.

"It's good that we just played them and it's obviously good for our guys I think that we won," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "I think they know that, they've played in this league long enough to understand that there are games that different teams point to with what's happened before."

The Wizards have actually won three straight over the Heat, but two victories in April came when James sat out since he was gearing up for the postseason.

Washington will present a different challenge with two new starters in its lineup compared to the last meeting. Crawford has started the last three games at point guard while Martell Webster is at forward in place of Trevor Ariza, who has been out since he strained his left calf in the win over the Heat.

Webster may not be as much of a concern to Miami since fellow swingman Cartier Martin scored a season-high 21 points in Friday's 102-96 home loss to the Lakers.

"With Trevor being out, he's been getting minutes and you base off those minutes, how the game's flowing," said Wittman about Martin. "He'll have every opportunity again in Miami tomorrow to come out and do those same things. That's kind of how I believe in him."

Washington is 1-9 on the road.

James scores 23, Heat easily beat Wizards 102-72

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Dec 15 2012 10:46PM

MIAMI (AP) Dwyane Wade and LeBron James came up with the idea several hours before the game.

If the Miami Heat were going to have a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Connecticut school shooting, then they wanted their own children to share in that solemn tribute.

So several players did exactly that - and maybe it was no coincidence that the Heat came up with one of their most complete showings of the season. James had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Heat never trailed on the way to beating the Washington Wizards 102-72 on Saturday night.

"We were focused on the game," Wade said. "We had heavy hearts for the families that dealt with the tragedy. But we had to play basketball, and ... for our fans and our family we had to come out here and do our job."

And that's exactly what the Heat did.

Wade and Udonis Haslem each scored 13 for Miami, which outscored Washington 29-10 in the third quarter to build a 33-point lead. James had 16 points alone in the third, ensuring he would finish with at least 20 points for the 26th straight regular-season game and 42nd consecutive game overall dating to last season.

Chris Bosh added 12 points for the Heat, who turned 21 turnovers into 30 points.

"We worked the game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Regardless of who was in the game, what the score was, work our game. Let's try to get back to our identity and be consistent. ... You should have some of these games where you jump on teams and you're able to sustain it."

Bradley Beal scored 19 points and Cartier Martin added 18 for the Wizards, who beat the Heat 105-101 in Washington on Dec. 4.

This one went much differently.

Consider: By halftime, Miami already had 50 points. Through three quarters, Washington still only had 46.

"I didn't know what we were running half the time," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Credit to Miami. They came out and put pressure on us and we didn't handle their pressure. I don't know what we were doing from an offensive standpoint."

It was an emotional day in Miami, as it has been at just about every U.S. sports venue since the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Friday sent shock waves across the country. Several Heat players spoke about how the massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead at an elementary school affected them, and before tipoff on Saturday, Miami held a moment of silence.

The added twist was the presence of the kids: Several Heat players brought their children onto the court for that moment, with Bosh holding his son Jackson to his chest.

"I couldn't imagine being in the position some people are in right now," Bosh said. "It wasn't like they were dropping their kids off in a dangerous situation. It was school."

Once the game started, Miami was all business.

Miami held Washington to 29 percent from the field in the opening quarter, ran out to a quick 16-point lead and never yielded control. Jordan Crawford made a 3-pointer for the Wizards early in the second to cut the Miami lead to 28-22, but after that, it was all Heat.

"We kind of turned into putty tonight," Wittman said.

By halftime, it was 50-36, and Wade set James up for an easy basket with 4:35 left in the third to push the Heat margin to 69-40. After that, the only drama remaining revolved around whether James would extend his streak of 20-point games, with everyone in the building knowing that he would be sitting out the entire fourth quarter of the runaway game.

He got there, and then some.

James went on a personal 8-0 run to end the third, finishing his night with a flourish. A turnaround jumper with 1:56 left in the third started the end-of-quarter flurry, followed by a pull-up jumper on the next possession to give him 19 points.

And when Ray Allen controlled a Norris Cole-versus-Beal jump ball, he flung it down court to James, who collected the pass and made a layup to pass that 20-point plateau once again. For good measure, James made one more 17-footer late in the quarter, going to the bench for good when the period ended.

"We came out and set a tone early on," Wade said. "And everyone followed."

NOTES: Former Heat C Shaquille O'Neal sat courtside, shaking hands with several players during the first half. World No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy also was in attendance. ... Haslem, Bosh and Wade combined to shoot 16 for 22. ... The Heat, whose biggest lead in Washington was only five, led by as many as 35 on Saturday. ... Washington fell to 1-10 on the road.

Notebook: Heat 102, Wizards 72

Zachary Paul, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:16 PM - Updated Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:16 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 102-72 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

For the Heat (15-6), it was the perfect remedy after losing three of the past five games. It was also their chance for redemption after falling to the Wizards (3-18) 105-101 Dec. 4 in Washington. LeBron James led the Heat with 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Dwyane Wade added 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12.

The Heat led for most of the way behind strong play from their three superstars and a solid defensive effort. It was one of the few times they were able to produce a balanced scoring effort. Despite James leading the way again, they had four starters score in double-figures.

Miami took control in the early stages of the game and never trailed. A jumper by Wade made it 20-7 with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

The Wizards were led by Bradley Beal's 19 points.

QUOTABLE: "First quarter, we held them to 14 [points]. Our goal was to hold them to under 20."

-- Dwyane Wade said on the Heat's emphasis on defense

THE STAT: The Heat held the Wizards to 37 percent shooting from the field.

TURNING POINT: The Heat established dominance in the first quarter, outscoring the Wizards 26-14.

HOT: Wade and Bosh made 10 of their first 15 shots. This was important because it took some of the pressure of James, who had been carrying the load in recent weeks.

NOT: After having success against the Heat in the first game, Wizards guard Jordan Crawford was not the answer this time. He scored 22 points in the previous meeting, but struggled from the field. He had problems being defended by Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers. Crawford finished with five points on 2-for-12 shooting.

GOOD MOVE: With the loss on Dec. 4 as motivation, the Heat made a point to put this game away early. They slammed the door once they got ahead and never looked back. Allowing the competition to hang around has been an issue this season, but not on this night.

BAD MOVE: The mistake for the Wizards was catching the Heat after coming off a loss to the Golden State Warriors. Miami felt it needed to make a statement and this was their chance. The Heat put together their most sound beating of an opponent this season.

NOTABLE: The Heat held a moment of silence before the game to honor the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting. ... Heat forward Udonis Haslem made his fourth start of the season, replacing Shane Battier. ... The Heat improved to 11-2 at home.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Tuesday vs. Timberwolves, Thursday @ Mavericks, Saturday vs. Jazz. For the Wizards, Tuesday vs. Hawks, Wednesday @ Magic, Friday @ Pistons.

• Wizards: Booker, Wall
• Heat: Harrellson, Harris

• Wizards: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #27 Dick Bavetta, #66 Haywoode Workman
• Attendance: 19724
• Duration: 2:07