MIAMI — The perfect cure for the hangover of a blown 19-point lead a night earlier?
The Washington Wizards, right on schedule for the Miami Heat.
Against the NBA’s 30th ranked offense and 28th ranked defense, Erik Spoelstra’s team was able to push past the sting of Sunday night’s overtime loss to the New York Knicks with a 106-90 victory Monday night over the league-worst Wizards.
Despite five rotation players being out — Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Jaine Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic — the Heat had enough to close out a 3-1 homestand against a schedule that now stiffens significantly.
“This is a resilient group,” Spoelstra said. “It’s easier said than done to come off a loss like last night.
“There’s great competitive character with this group. We knew how important the game meant, so I thought we bought the appropriate disposition and energy into the game.”
On a night Bam Adebayo passed Rony Seikaly’s franchise career double-double record with 19 points and 14 rebounds, the Heat also got 17 points from Duncan Robinson, 16 from Pelle Larsson, 16 from Tyler Herro and 15 from Terry Rozier.
Up next for the Heat is a Wednesday night road game against the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers and then a matchup Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the start of a five-game homestand.
“We knew we can do it,” Adebayo said. “It’s just time for us.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:
1. Game flow: The Heat led 32-24 at the end of the first quarter and 55-46 at halftime.
From that 19-point lead, the Wizards moved within eight late in the third period.
The Heat then took an 81-68 lead into the fourth quarter.
From there, the Heat pushed their lead into the 20s, removing any concern of a replay of Sunday night’s closing disaster against the Knicks.
“Just being able to bounce back from a disappointing loss, next man up and we got the job done,” Adebayo said.
2. Unique approach: With Ware sidelined by a knee sprain sustained in Sunday’s loss and with Mitchell out with a quad contusion also sustained Sunday, the Heat went deep into the roster for a starting lineup of Adebayo, Herro, Kevin Love, Alec Burks and Rozier.
It was Love’s first action since Feb. 5. He had been out of the rotation or on personal leave in the interim. Love then had seven rebounds in his opening 6:56 stint, closing with nine.
It was Burks’ third start of the season, having also started Sunday night’s loss to the Knicks.
“I’m just trying to keep some part of the rotation in continuity,” Spoelstra said.
3. Adebayo’s night: Adebayo had his double-double by halftime, largely having his way against Wizards rookie big man Alex Sarr.
Adebayo’s double-double record was recognized during a third-quarter stoppage, with teammates rising in applause.
“Glad it’s done,” Adebayo said, “glad we got the win.”
In addition to his points and rebounds, Adebayo also chipped in as a facilitator in the absence of Mitchell, who had been starting at point guard, adding five assists.
4. Still there: Held out of five of the previous six games and used for just one minute in that other appearance, second-round pick Larsson offered a reminder of his ability to provide energy off the bench.
It was Larsson’s first game scoring in double figures since going for 11 points in the Jan. 21 blowout home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“Tonight we definitely felt Pelle,” Spoelstra said. “He brought that energy. He brought that extra oomph.
“He gave us some reality productive minutes tonight, that’s inspiring.”
Larsson’s previous scoring high had been 14 points in a Nov. 24 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
“I knew there was going to come a night like this,” Larsson said of sparking the shorthanded rotation.
5. Staying solid: Robinson continued his solid play in reserve, scoring in double figures for a fourth consecutive game, something he had not done since late January.
It also was Robinson’s fourth consecutive game with multiple 3-pointers.
He closed 7 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
“Whenever Duncan plays well,” Spoelstra said, “it has a massive impact on our team.”
Originally Published: March 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM EST
