Depleted Heat Hold Off Depleted Wizards, 119-112

MIAMI (AP) — Miami had 8 players available, losing 1 aft helium had completed his pregame warmup. Washington had players getting clang courses successful Wizards terminology a mates hours earlier really getting into the game.

It wasn’t an casual nighttime for either side. It was conscionable somewhat much enjoyable for Miami.

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Tyler Herro scored 32 points disconnected the Miami bench, Jimmy Butler finished with 25 points and a career-best 15 assists, and the depleted Heat held disconnected the depleted Wizards 119-112 connected Tuesday night.

“Just continuing to get better,” Herro said, aft the Heat (22-13) moved a season-best 9 games implicit .500.

Duncan Robinson added 26 points for Miami, making 8 3-pointers connected a nighttime the Heat got by with a precise abbreviated rotation that mightiness get shorter aft Butler twisted his close ankle with 1:03 remaining.

Kyle Lowry is successful the wellness and information protocols, Bam Adebayo is retired with a thumb wounded and present the Heat volition commencement a two-week roadworthy travel Wednesday successful San Antonio with Butler either missing oregon rather perchance ailing.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points and Kyle Kuzma had 22 for Washington. Davis Bertans scored 19, Daniel Gafford finished with 16 and Corey Kispert added 14 for the Wizards.

Washington trailed by 28 successful the 3rd quarter, past got wrong 5 precocious earlier Miami held connected to implicit a 4-0 homestand.

“This is simply a pugnacious situation to statesman with, but not having practiced, conscionable doing a ballroom walkthrough … that’s pugnacious to do,” Wizards manager Wes Unseld Jr. said. “I springiness them recognition for putting distant the effort they did.”

Both teams were without 8 players, mostly for virus-related reasons arsenic the numbers remained precocious astir the NBA.

The Wizards were without Bradley Beal, Thomas Bryant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura, Montrezl Harrell, Anthony Gill, Aaron Holiday and Raul Neto — each due to the fact that of the league’s wellness and information protocols.

Miami was without Lowry, Udonis Haslem and Max Strus due to the fact that of protocols, positive Adebayo, P.J. Tucker, Dewayne Dedmon, Markieff Morris and Victor Oladipo due to the fact that of injuries.

“When things hap oregon things change, you’ve conscionable got to set to it and flooded it,” Strus said Tuesday, a fewer hours earlier crippled time. “I mean, that’s what we’re truly moving with successful the satellite close now.”

He was intending to play. About an hr earlier crippled time, aft warming up, helium went into the protocols, and the Heat were down to an eight-man rotation.

“The full league is adjusting to it,” Heat manager Erik Spoelstra said. “I commend everybody for moving unneurotic done each of this.”

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The triumph was the 629th for Spoelstra, breaking a necktie with Doug Moe for outright possession of 25th connected the NBA’s vocation list. Spoelstra is present wrong 9 wins of No. 24 Chuck Daly.

Spoelstra’s father, erstwhile NBA enforcement Jon Spoelstra, erstwhile worked for the Denver Nuggets with Moe — and inactive considers Moe 1 of his favorites.

“I can’t adjacent wrapper my caput astir those benignant of things. … He’s a fable successful this profession,” Spoelstra said.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Washington went 24-36 distant from location successful 2021. … The Wizards (17-17) are backmost astatine .500 for the season. They person yet to beryllium nether .500 astatine immoderate constituent successful the 2021-22 campaign, aft not spending a azygous time implicit .500 successful each of the erstwhile 3 seasons. … Washington’s biggest shortage was 28 points, making this the 4th crippled this play the Wizards trailed by astatine slightest that many.

Heat: Miami went 31-20 astatine location successful 2021. … The Heat didn’t perpetrate their archetypal turnover until 5:12 remained successful the half. … Miami had 65 points by halftime for the 100th clip successful franchise history, improving to 79-21 erstwhile it happens. The Heat person done it 4 times this period alone, tying second-most successful squad past for immoderate month, joining May 2021 and January 2020. Miami had six specified archetypal halves successful November 2019.

ON THE CALL

Jenna Schroeder — who was portion of the NBA’s archetypal two-woman officiating unit backmost successful January — and Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling were 2 of the referees sent to Miami for the game, joining seasoned Ed Malloy. Also making calls, albeit successful a antithetic way, was Ruth Riley Hunter. The erstwhile Notre Dame star, WNBA prima and Olympic golden medalist was the Heat tv expert for the game, with regular expert John Crotty successful the protocols.

WAITING FOR RUI

Hachimura, who hasn’t played a “real” crippled since the Tokyo Olympics, was listed arsenic questionable to marque his play debut Tuesday. And past helium went successful the protocols, delaying that for astatine slightest a fewer much days. “I consciousness similar he’s successful a bully spot. This is conscionable benignant of a small velocity bump close present wherever helium can’t beryllium with america and beryllium perchance available,” Unseld Jr. said.

UP NEXT

Wizards: Host Cleveland connected Thursday, starting a four-game homestand.

Heat: Visit San Antonio connected Wednesday, opening a seven-game, two-week roadworthy trip.

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