A complete offensive effort propels Miami Heat past Washington Wizards

The Miami Heat earned an impressive 129-102 win over the Washington Wizards.

Despite having won three of their last four games, the Miami Heat are no lock to make the upcoming postseason. Currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, every game becomes even more important as the playoffs creep slowly on the horizon.

Hosting the Washington Wizards on Saturday evening, the Heat would leave no doubt who the better team was that evening.

James Johnson scored 20 points, Wayne Ellington tallied 17 and Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk, Tyler Johnson, and Rodney McGruder all added 13, as Miami pummeled the Wizards 129-102. The win marks the second straight for the Heat and avenges their loss to Washington on March 6, despite missing Hassan Whiteside for the game with a hip injury.

Jodie Meeks led the Wizards with 23 points and Bradley Beal added 14, as the Wizards saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.

From the opening tip, the Heat were clicking on all cylinders offensively, jumping out to a quick lead.

More from All U Can Heat

• Grade the Trade: Heat grab Trae Young in shocking proposal
• NBA 2K24 Ratings: Takeaways and reactions to Miami Heat player ratings
• 4 Teams that should trade for Tyler Herro
• Miami Heat’s Nikola Jovic gives entire world reason to love him
• 1 Advantage the Heat have over every Southeast Division team

Never trailing throughout the game, Miami finished with seven players in double figures and shot 59 percent from the field, not trailing once in 48 minutes. Despite being outscored in all but one quarter, the Wizards found themselves within two with 3:51 left in the first half, but would never inch any closer. The Heat would outscored Washington 43-28 during the third period, their highest scoring quarter since 2013.

Dwyane Wade, who recorded his 8,000 field goal of his career during the first half, would exit the game in the fourth quarter with a mild left hamstring strain.

Having now split the regular season series with Washington, the Heat are now just .5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers, for the East’s sixth seed as the playoffs inch closer.

Boasting eight players in double figures, Miami outscored the Wizards by a combined margin of 71-35 after Washington pulled within two. Without rookie Bam Adebayo for much of the night, the Heat found ways to put the ball in the basket, despite going 10-of-28 from 3-point range.

Outscoring Washington in the paint by a combined margin of 76-42, it was that area of the floor where Miami was most lethal, making the Wizards pay time and time again.

With the possibility of Whiteside’s prolonged absence looming, the Heat were in desperate need of an offensive rhythm, and that all started tonight with attacking the basket.

When speaking with reporters following the game, Whiteside was uncertain about his status regarding Monday’s matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.

"“I don’t know, with strains it’s pretty tricky, Whiteside said. “They can last a couple of days; they can go away. I definitely don’t want to go out there and make it worse.”"

Miami’s second-leading scorer on the season, Whiteside has missed 20 games due to injury this season.

With the postseason looming and several implications lying ahead, the Heat find themselves in a peculiar situation as the regular season nears its close.

Next: Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade back, Justise Winslow is in the zone

Miami (36-31) will travel northwest for a matchup with Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, March 12 at 9:30 PM ET.