Heat at Wizards
The Washington Wizards are expecting much better results when they host the Miami Heat on Monday in their second meeting this season. The Heat knocked off the visiting Wizards by 12 points in the season opener, but Washington was without its second-leading scorer the last two seasons, Bradley Beal, who missed the first nine games following wrist surgery. The Wizards are 3-3 since his return but are still dealing with injuries, most notably the three-game absence of Nene (foot).
The Heat got past the struggling New York Knicks on Sunday night as Dwyane Wade returned from a seven-game absence due to a hamstring injury and scored 27 points. Miami has played well so far in the second game of back-to-backs, winning four of the previous five. Chris Bosh could be in line for a second straight big game against Washington, especially if Nene is unavailable.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), CSN (Washington)
ABOUT THE HEAT (9-7): Miami has a chance to move three games over .500 for the third time this season and they may need to depend heavily on Wade for some backcourt scoring against the Wizards. Starting point guard Norris Cole has been wearing a splint on his left middle finger, which is not his primary shooting hand, but seems to be affecting his willingness and ability to shoot the ball. He’s 2-for-11 in the two games since returning from a two-game absence with the injury, though he doesn’t have a turnover in those 49 minutes.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (10-5): Marcin Gortat is coming off a season-high 24 points and 13 rebounds against the Pelicans on Saturday, helping Washington end a two-game skid. The player who needs to find his shooting touch is leading scorer John Wall, who is shooting 37.2 percent in the last four games and has 19 turnovers in that span. Beal is averaging 16.2 points on 44.7 percent shooting in 31.5 minutes per game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami is 8-0 this season when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
2. The 34 points the Heat allowed in the first half Sunday against the Knicks was the lowest-scoring half by an opponent this season.
3. Washington G Garrett Temple, who started 13 games this season, is questionable to play with a sore right heel.