Wizards vs. Heat final score: Wizards fall on the road to Miami, 112-101

The Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 112-101 Monday night in Miami. Goran Dragic torched Washington all night leading all scorers with 34 points.

The Wizards lack of rim protection got exposed early as Miami attacked the paint all night. Gortat seemed to get frustrated early as Hassan Whiteside got the better of him of all night. The communication on the Wizards was bad as well allowing Miami to the cut in the lanes and get easy baskets when they wanted.

In the 2nd quarter, Washington built an eight point lead after going on a 13-3 run. However, Washington struggled all night extending their lead which gave Miami plenty of opportunities to climb back into this game, and that’s exactly what they did. By the end of the first half, the Heat were back up by six.

The Wizards took advantage of Goran Dragic’s foul trouble in the third quarter, outscoring the Heat 22-11 in that period, thanks in large part to John Wall and Bradley Beal, who combined for 15 points in the period.

Going into the 4th quarter Dragic gave the Wizards more issues. That, combined with the Heat dominating the glass, hurt in the closing minutes. Those costly rebounds led to kick out threes for Miami or just another possession to score or just waste some clock. The Wizards just couldn’t get a stop when they needed one tonight.

House of Guards show up again

Otto Porter and Markieff Morris chipped in tonight but it was basically John Wall and Bradley Beal looking like a threat on the offensive end. John Wall did what he could (racking up 30 points, 8 assists) with big help from Bradley Beal’s (29 points) but they can’t win games by themselves.

The defense is still an issue

The Wizards were coasting at points in this game. They need to realize that they just aren’t good enough to do that. Their lack of defensive communication lets teams like the Magic (29th in Offensive Rating) score 124 points and the Heat (24th in Offensive Rating) score 112 points. That’s bad.

If the Wizards want to even think about the playoffs they must find a way to get more interested defensively while getting more offensive out of everybody because the formula they have now isn't working. Washington to get back to the drawing board now.