Wizards vs. Heat final score: Washington scorched by Miami, 121-100

If you missed the Washington Wizards’ 121-100 loss to the Miami Heat, all you’d need to do is rewatch the first two minutes of the third quarter to understand how the game unfolded.

The Wizards had cut what was a 46-26 hole in the second quarter into a much more manageable seven point deficit at halftime, 60-53.

On Washington’s first possession of the 3rd, with a chance to cut the lead to four, Aaron Holiday had a clean look for three roll right off the rim and out. On Miami’s first possession, Jimmy Butler found Kyle Lowry in the corner for a three that went down.

Thirty seconds later, the Wizards used good ball movement to find Kyle Kuzma in the corner for a completely uncontested triple. Kuz ended up hitting it off the side of the backboard. Duncan Robinson capitalized with a three of his own from the top of the key right after.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope then got two attempts at wide-open threes on both corners on the next possession. He air-balled from the left corner, then overshot it from the right corner.

The Wizards went 7-for-31 on three-point attempts for the game, with two of them coming in the last two minutes with the game well decided at that point The Heat already had six triples in the first quarter and finished with 18 makes on 32 attempts.

Washington had their chances early as the Heat piled on the turnovers in the second quarter, with six to D.C.’s one miscue. But such a drastic difference in converted attempts from beyond the arc was just too much to overcome.

Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie both underperformed on the night. Dinwiddie finished with four points on just six attempts. Kuz meanwhile had 12 points and grabbed just two rebounds while also being a team-worst -35 for the game.

Corey Kispert was one of the few bright spots on the evening. The rookie tied his career high with 20 points, showing off his offensive versatility with cuts and fastbreak baskets.

Aaron Holiday also showed some shine, with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in his opportunity to start.

The lopsided result marks Washington’s eighth loss in their last nine games, with the equally cold Brooklyn Nets coming into town on Thursday night.