Final
Heat-Wizards Preview
Jan 2, 2016 - 10:39 PM The Miami Heat haven't had an answer for John Wall in recent meetings with Washington. Considering how well the Wizards point guard is playing lately, a good portion of the entire NBA doesn't seem to have one, either.Enjoying one of the finest stretches of his career, Wall looks to lead the Wizards back to .500 with their sixth win in eight games Sunday when they host the Heat.
After finishing with 24 points and 13 assists to lead Washington (15-16) past Orlando 103-91 on Friday, Wall has posted 11 or more assists in eight straight games - the only NBA player to do it this season. He's also averaging 20.1 points in that span.
The surge has bumped his season assists average to 9.9, which is second to league-leading Rajon Rondo. Wall even sent Rondo a message Dec. 21 when he dished out a career-best 19 in a 113-99 win over Sacramento. Rondo had nine assists for the Kings.
Wall has also been taking care of the ball a bit better in the last eight despite two games in which he had six or more turnovers. Take those two games away and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.38 after it was 2.08 entering his streak.
It's an important improvement for the aggressive guard since his 4.4 miscues per game this season are a career worst, but his last four against Miami (19-13) - all wins - have been anything but sloppy with six total turnovers. Coupled with 42 assists, Wall has a 7.00 assist-to-turnover ratio during his team's win streak against the Heat.
He also shot better than 60.0 percent in three of those four games, and although he struggled in the other in March with six points on 2-of-7 shooting, he had 12 assists with no giveaways, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Wall shot 9 of 12 and scored 26 with seven assists in a 114-103 victory at Miami on Dec. 7 that was part of a 3-6 stretch in which Washington allowed 109.6 points per game. The Wizards have since tightened things up with an average of 97.1 in the last seven.
"Whenever we defend at a high level, we force turnovers, we get ourselves easy baskets early on," Wall told the team's official website. "We've got to understand that we've got to play defense. We've got to find a way to keep our defense up with our offense, and we have been doing that."
Washington's D has been strong during the win streak over Miami with an average of 97.3 points allowed, although Dwyane Wade has still gotten his points with 24.7 per game while playing in three of them. The biggest factor may be that Chris Bosh suited up for only two since the center shot a combined 14 of 25 for 39 points when he did play.
The Heat and their second-ranked defense - which allows 95.1 points per game - have a simple task: hold the Wizards under 100. Washington's four losses since Dec. 12 are the only occasions in that time when the club failed to hit the century mark.
Miami quieted a Dallas offense that had averaged 113.5 during a four-game win streak with a 106-82 rout of the Mavericks on Friday. Hassan Whiteside had 25 points and 19 rebounds, Gerald Green added 19 and Bosh had 16 while Wade overcame flu-like symptoms to chip in 10 points and seven assists in 19 minutes.
"You want to be tested," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You want to be measured in this league. You want to be pushed to adversity."
The Wizards have never won five straight in this series.
- MIAMI: 97
WASHINGTON: 75
Final
Mar 14 6:56 PM - MIAMI: 97
WASHINGTON: 75
Final
Jan 3 8:13 PM - End of 4th Quarter.
Jan 3 8:13 PM - MIAMI: 73
WASHINGTON: 51
End of 3rd
Jan 3 7:47 PM - End of 3rd Quarter.
Jan 3 7:47 PM - MIAMI: 50
WASHINGTON: 31
Halftime
Jan 3 7:09 PM - End of 1st Half.
Jan 3 7:08 PM - MIAMI: 25
WASHINGTON: 24
End of 1st
Jan 3 6:35 PM - End of 1st Quarter.
Jan 3 6:35 PM - MIAMI: 25
WASHINGTON: 24
End of 1st
Jan 3 6:35 PM - MIAMI: 2
WASHINGTON: 2
1st Quarter - 11:09
Jan 3 6:12 PM - Hassan Whiteside vs. Marcin Gortat (Garrett Temple gains possession)
Jan 3 6:11 PM
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