Beal scores 27 points, Wizards outlast Heat 107-106 in OT
Nov 18, 2022, 4:52 AM | Updated: 8:02 pm
Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (8) shoots against Miami Heat center Orlando Robinson (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and a season-high 17 rebounds and the Washington Wizards beat the undermanned Miami Heat 107-106 in overtime Friday night.
Washington outscored Miami 3-2 in overtime. Kyle Kuzma hit one of two free throws with 2:48 to play for the Wizards for the last points of the game. Kuzma had 21 points.
Kuzma hit a 3-pointer to force overtime.
“These guys are trap games. These games are harder than regular games,” Kuzma said. “When you don’t have your best couple of players, it gives everybody else less pressure on their shoulders.”
Kyle Lowry had a triple-double for Miami with 24 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and Max Strus had 22 points.
Strus missed a game-winner at the buzzer and missed all 10 of his 3-point attempts in the second half.
“I let the guys down tonight,” Strus said. “I disappeared in the second half. We had a lot of guys come up, step up, play hard, give us great minutes. We should have won the game.”
Miami had just seven healthy players, and was forced to dress Gabe Vincent, who was out with a knee injury, to satisfy the NBA requirement that teams have eight players in uniform.
The Heat were missing their top three scorers, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Butler was out with a left knee injury, and he’s expected to miss the final two games of the four-game trip. Adebayo is out with a bruised left knee.
“It’s a shame,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I really wished I could have told something better to my locker room because I’m really proud of that effort tonight. We just had a couple of miscues. … Some very good things happened tonight.”
Herro, who is expected back on Sunday, missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle.
TIP-INS
Heat: F Duncan Robinson was out after he cut a finger when it was caught in a jersey during Friday’s shootaround. … C Dewayne Dedmon missed the game with a stomach illness. … Miami hosts Washington next Wednesday and Friday. …C Orlando Robinson, a two-way player, made his NBA debut and scored 14 points. … C Nikola Jovic had a career-high 18 points. … F Haywood Highsmith had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Wizards: G Jordan Goodwin was out with left knee soreness. … Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said that G Delon Wright would have his right hamstring re-evaluated this weekend. … Former Wizards Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were honored during halftime. Butler is an assistant coach for Miami. … Beal passed Elvin Hayes for third place in franchise history with his 737th steal.
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Spoelstra’s bench had just two players, Robinson and Jamal Cain, both two-way players. As a result, the 36-year-old Lowry played just under 51 minutes.
“When he got off the bus and walked by the coaches’ office before the game, he ducked his head in and said: ‘I can go 48 if you need me to,'” Spoelstra said. “I wasn’t planning on that necessarily. I felt like I accomplished something by giving him a minute rest in that second half.”
UP NEXT
Heat: At Cleveland on Sunday night.
Wizards: Host Charlotte on Sunday night.
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