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Heat crush Wizards

Dec 16, 2012 - 4:57 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James compiled 23 and 10 rebounds as the Miami Heat exacted a measure of revenge on the Washington Wizards with a 102-72 rout of their Southeast Division rival at American Airlines Arena.

The Heat were dealt a shocking 105-101 defeat in Washington to a Wizards team that was 1-13 at the time back on Dec. 4, but ensured there would be no repeat outcome this time. Miami never had a lead under double digits after the second quarter and was ahead by as many as 35 points at one stage.

Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem each netted 13 points to help the defending world champions bounce back from Wednesday's 97-95 home setback to Golden State as well.

Bradley Beal and Cartier Martin were the lone bright spots in an otherwise awful offensive display for Washington, which shot a meager 37.5 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers that the Heat converted into 30 points.

"Credit to Miami. They came out and put pressure on us and we didn't handle their pressure," Wizards head coach Randy Wittman stated. "I don't know what we were doing from an offensive standpoint."

Beal paced the Wizards with 19 points, with Martin recording 18 off the bench while making good on 4-of-6 attempts from 3-point range.

Miami quickly established its superiority over the cellar-dwelling Wizards, with a Shane Battier 3-pointer capping a 9-0 run that staked the Heat to a 23-7 advantage with three minutes still to play in the first quarter. Washington shot a poor 6-of-21 during the frame and trailed by a 26-14 count at period's end.

"We came out and set a tone early on, and everyone followed," said Wade of the starting unit."

The Wizards did start off the second quarter well, with Martin and Jordan Crawford each sinking treys during an 8-2 flurry that brought Washington within 28-22 just over two minutes into the session.

That would be as close as the team would get over the remainder of the contest, however.

Up 35-28 with five minutes left in the first half, Miami put together a 10-2 burst to extend the differential to 15 points, and the Heat would go into the locker room owning a comfortable 50-36 lead.

Miami wasn't threatened at all after the break, with Washington mustering a paltry 10 points while hitting just 4-of-15 field goal tries during a third quarter in which James outscored Washington all by himself. The reigning league MVP poured in 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting over the course of the stanza as the Heat opened up a commanding 79-46 spread entering the final 12 minutes.

James, Wade, Chris Bosh and Haslem were all rested during the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.

Game Notes

Wizards center Nene did not play due to soreness in his left foot ... Washington had won the last three meetings between the clubs dating back to last season, though Miami has gone 13-4 against the Wizards since the start of the 2008-09 campaign ... James extended his streak of scoring 20 points or more to 26 straight games, the longest active run in the NBA ... Martin connected on 5-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc during a 21-point performance against the Lakers on Friday.