Wizards at Heat
The Miami Heat needed to work overtime to keep their NBA-best home record at one loss in the opener of a five-game homestand on Monday and won without the services of star swingman Jimmy Butler. The Heat will try to eclipse last season's home win total when they host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Miami, which went 19-22 at home last season, improved to 19-1 in 2019-20 when Bam Adebayo finished off a lob in the final second of regulation and scored the first four points of overtime to push the team to a 118-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings. "This team has got a lot of grit and determination," Adebayo told reporters after helping the Heat improve to 7-0 in overtime contests this season. "That's the kind of guys you want in your locker room." The Wizards dropped their last four road games but are coming off a 106-100 home win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday that featured a rare solid defensive performance. "Defensively, I thought we did a great job of making them take tough shots and we did a pretty good job of keeping them off the offensive glass," Washington coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "There were a couple late turnovers, but I thought the second half was much better at taking care of the basketball."
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Washington, FS Sun
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (14-28): Washington is last in the league in scoring defense, yielding an average of 119.8 points, and was shredded for 140 points in a loss at Toronto on Friday before tightening up and holding the Pistons to 65 points over the final three quarters on Monday. Ian Mahinmi helped keep the offense efficient with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting to join Utah center Rudy Gobert and Portland center Hassan Whiteside as the only three players to attempt at least 10 field goals and shoot at least 90 percent in two or more games this season. "It's a good feeling," Mahinmi told reporters. "You know me, I'm not a really big stat guy. Honestly, I like to impact the game especially on the defensive end. When I have nights like that, when things are going well offensively, my teammates are looking for me, it's a good feeling."
ABOUT THE HEAT (30-13): With Butler (hip) out of the lineup on Monday and day-to-day, reserve forward James Johnson got a chance to put up some extra shots and poured in a season-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 from beyond the arc) in 29 minutes. "He had his impact on this game the way James Johnson should, making winning plays on both ends of the court," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "Offensively, he and Goran (Dragic) have a great connection. He gave us a different dynamic and playmaking out of the pick and roll. Defensively he did some special things in the zone that you need to be a great athlete with size and instincts to be able to make those plays." Dragic added 18 points and four assists as part of a productive day from the reserves on Monday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat rookie SG Kendrick Nunn is averaging 23.6 points over the last five games.
2. Wizards C Anzejs Pasecniks (ankle) missed Monday's game and is day-to-day.
3. The home team took each of the first two meetings, with Miami turning aside Washington 112-103 on Dec. 6.