Heat-Wizards Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Apr 25 2012 11:16PM

The Miami Heat appear content resting their stars in preparation for whomever they might face in the first round of the playoffs.

One of the reasons they eased up in the race for the Eastern Conference's top seed is because of a home loss to the Washington Wizards over the weekend.

The Heat, who again will likely be without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, conclude the regular season Thursday night against a Wizards team in the midst of its longest winning streak in 4 1/2 years.

With a 78-66 loss at Boston on Tuesday, Miami (46-19) was guaranteed the East's No. 2 seed for the playoffs. The Heat will open the postseason against New York or Philadelphia, which are tied for seventh place with the Knicks owning the tiebreaker.

New York closes the season at Charlotte, while the 76ers are in Detroit.

While a matchup between the Heat and Celtics would usually figure to be a playoff-type atmosphere, there was nothing attractive about Tuesday's game between division winners. Boston rested Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, while Miami played without James, Wade and Bosh.

Fans were instead treated to a healthy dose of Dexter Pittman, who led the Heat with 12 points.

"We wanted to make sure going into the last week with a quick turnaround that we were ready for this weekend," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We had legitimate injuries. We weren't just sitting guys."

Bosh has missed the last five games with an apparent right hamstring injury while Wade has missed four of the last five, with the last two because of a dislocated left index finger sustained in Saturday's 86-84 loss to Washington.

Prior to that game, Miami and Chicago were in a tight race for the East's top seed and the Heat appeared to have an easier schedule down the stretch. The loss to Washington (19-46), however, coupled with a Bulls win over Dallas that same night essentially wrapped up first place for Chicago.

Wade injured his finger less than three minutes into the game, and James and Bosh were already on the bench for rest.

The Heat had defeated the Wizards 106-89 in Washington on Feb. 10 to extend their winning streak in the series to six games. Wade finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, Bosh scored 24 and James added 18 points and nine assists.

Their absences Thursday would certainly spell trouble for the Heat, whose obvious lack of depth is one of their biggest concerns heading into the playoffs. Miami's depleted lineup Tuesday finished with a season low in scoring to go with a season-worst 25 turnovers.

Facing a Washington team that is suddenly playing its best basketball, especially on the defensive end, might also pose as a problem.

The Wizards have essentially been out of the playoff picture since opening 2-15, but are determined to finish the season on a high note. They defeated Cleveland 96-85 Wednesday for their fifth straight victory, their longest winning streak since reeling off six in a row from Nov. 11-21, 2007.

"Everybody plays good and plays hard," John Wall said. "Nobody worries about how many points you're going to score. You can tell the whole group is having a lot more fun."

During their winning streak, the Wizards have allowed an average of 87.6 points - 11.3 points fewer than their season mark.

Wall has also stepped up his game, finishing with 21 points, 13 assists and seven steals Wednesday. It was the fourth straight double-double for Wall, who had four in his previous 24 contests.

Big 3 watches as Heat lose to Wizards 104-70

Posted Apr 26 2012 11:48PM

WASHINGTON (AP) LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh watched and didn't seem to care. The final game of the regular season was meaningless, and the Miami Heat played like it.

Without their Big Three, the Heat suffered their worst defeat of 2011-2012 with a 104-70 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

With their first playoff game just two days away, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra rested the boldface names and started Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem, Eddy Curry, Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers. Only Chalmers usually starts, and Curry started for the first time in more than four years.

The Heat are locked into the Eastern Conference's second playoff spot and open the postseason Saturday against the New York Knicks.

Miami was blown out early. Washington led by 25 at halftime and by as many as 38, sending the Heat to their biggest loss since Jan. 20, 2010.

"If we land safely and the plane touches down in Miami, it's a victory," Battier said. "That was a nasty game. Luckily no one was injured, seriously, that's what you take away from this game."

The Heat had only two players in double figures: Norris Cole with 14 and Curry with 10.

"Obviously we're not gonna put too much weight into this game. We don't think it'll have too much bearing on the second season," Spoelstra said.

"This will be a great first-round matchup. The way the season's been we couldn't expect anything other than to play after a day. We don't need more than that. We're in the same place the Knicks are in," Spoelstra said.

"They're coming off a game as well, so everybody's on a fair fighting field right now. Let's tip it off."

The Wizards started the season 2-15 and fired coach Flip Saunders, replacing him with Randy Wittman. Washington closed with its first six-game win streak since Nov. 11-21, 2007. Three of the six wins were against the East's top two teams: one against Chicago and two over Miami.

"This was a real satisfying way to come down the stretch for this team," Wittman said.

Mo Evans had a season-high 18 points, Nene and Kevin Seraphin each scored 15, and John Wall had seven points and 12 assists for the Wizards.

Washington went on a 27-11 run to take a 33-18 lead early in the second quarter and increased it to 57-32 at halftime. It was the Wizards' biggest win since Nov. 11, 2005.

On Tuesday, Spoelstra also rested James, Wade and Bosh in a 78-66 loss at Boston.

Spoelstra had a problem that Wittman wishes he had. Wittman has no assurances from team president Ernie Grunfeld, whose contract was extended earlier this week, that he'll return as coach - despite the impressive stretch to end the season.

"I'm not an idiot. Any time you lose a job you're disappointed. I think anybody doesn't want to lose a job or look elsewhere for a job," Wittman said. "I'll coach somewhere."

In January, the Wizards were a national punch line. In March, they traded JaVale McGee and Nick Young and acquired Nene. With the Brazilian in the lineup, Washington was 7-4.

Wall said that he liked the new tenor of the team.

"We had a lot of jokes going around the locker room. It's more serious about everything, and we're acting more like a team," Wall said.

NOTES: Washington G Jordan Crawford missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle. ... Curry's last came on March 7, 2008, when he played for New York. ... Washington F Andray Blatche, who didn't play after March 17 to improve his conditioning, said he's lost 12 pounds and admitted he regretted allowing the negative crowd reaction bother him. He let "the boos get myself down, messing with my head and not being able to go out and work as hard as I could," Blatche said.

Notebook: Wizards 104, Heat 70

Posted Friday April 27, 2012 12:28AM

By Rich Dubroff, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat rested LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh for the second straight game and were blown out by the Washington Wizards 104-70 on Thursday night.

Mo Evans had a season-high 18 points, Nene and Kevin Seraphin had 15 and John Wall had seven points and 12 assists for Washington, which won its sixth straight game. It's their longest winning streak since Nov. 2007.

The Wizards led by 10 after the first quarter, 25 at halftime and by 30 after three. They led by as many as 38 in the fourth quarter. Norris Cole led Miami with 14 points.

QUOTABLE: "If we land safely and the plane touches down in Miami, it's a victory. That was a nasty game. Luckily no one was injured. Seriously, that's what you take away from this game."
-- Heat forward Shane Battier

THE STAT: Miami had 22 turnovers and Washington scored 33 points off them.

TURNING POINT: The Wizards outscored the Heat 27-11 to take a 33-18 lead early in the second quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm not an idiot. Any time you lose a job, you're disappointed. I think anybody doesn't want to lose a job or look elsewhere for a job."
-- Washington coach Randy Wittman, who took over in January with the team 2-15, but who hasn't been guaranteed a job for next season.

HOT: Nene was 6-for-7 from the field. In his last three games, he was 20-for-25 from the field.

NOT: Miami's Terrel Harris was 1-for-9 from the field in 31 minutes.

GOOD MOVE: Wall knew he was playing an overmatched team and instead of forcing his shots, he dished off the ball and had seven assists in the first quarter.

BAD MOVE: The Heat failing to put a representative team on the court. Eddy Curry started for the first time since March 7, 2008.

NOTABLE: It was Washington's biggest win since a 41-point victory over Seattle on Nov. 11, 2005.

IN THE ARENA: Fans were given player's jerseys after the game. The first jersey given away belonged to Andray Blatche, who's been booed for being out of condition. The fans booed when the jersey was handed out.

UP NEXT: Heat: Saturday: Game 1 vs. Knicks, Monday: Game 2 vs. Knicks, Thursday: Game 3 @ Knicks.

• Heat: Bosh, Wade
• Wizards: Blatche, Lewis

• Heat: Howard
• Wizards: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #45 Brian Forte, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 19537
• Duration: 2:01