Terry Rozier scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, Bam Adebayo added 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and the visiting Miami Heat sent the Washington Wizards another loss closer to their worst final record in franchise history with a 119-107 decision on Sunday.
Rozier shot 11-of-19 from the floor, including 5-of-11 from 3-point distance, en route to matching his highest-scoring output since his Miami debut on Jan. 24.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Miami (41-33), which moved a half-game within Indiana for sixth place and the last guaranteed playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Nikola Jovic added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Heat, and Haywood Highsmith scored 10 points off the bench.
Washington (14-61), which needs five wins to avoid besting the 1961-62 Chicago Packers for the organization’s worst-ever win percentage, spent the first half going back-and-forth with a Miami team jockeying for playoff positioning.
Rozier struck for a pair of 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds before intermission, however, giving the Heat a seven-point lead at halftime. Miami held Washington to 21 third-quarter points, building a double-digit lead the Heat held the rest of the way.
Miami’s edge grew to as many as 18 points. The Wizards trimmed the deficit to 10 points, but a quick 7-2 response from the Heat snuffed any hope of a rally.
The loss for Washington was its third straight after having run off its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Jordan Poole led six Washington scorers in double figures with 22 points. Anthony Gill scored 18 points off the bench, and Deni Avdija went for 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Miami will carry a two-game winning streak into a six-game stretch likely to shape its postseason outlook. The Heat face six consecutive opponents currently in line to land spots in either the playoffs or play-in round.
–Field Level Media