National Basketball Association
Miami 119, Washington 112
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Where: FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials: #7 Lauren Holtkamp, #84 Jenna Schroeder, #14 Ed Malloy
Attendance: 19600

Reserve Tyler Herro scored a season-high and game-high 32 points, and Jimmy Butler set his career high with 15 assists, leading the host Miami Heat to a 119-112 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Butler added 25 points for a double-double as Miami won its fourth straight game. Butler sprained his right ankle with 63 seconds left, but he remained in the game. He also had eight rebounds for a near triple-double.

Miami has also won six straight home contests.

Herro, who was ejected in Miami's previous game, shot 9-for-19 from the floor, including 5-of-7 on 3-pointers.

The Heat also got 26 points from Duncan Robinson, who made 8-of-16 on 3-pointers. His eight 3-pointers are a season high.

Heat center Omer Yurtseven contributed a game-high 14 rebounds to go with 10 points as Miami improved to 12-4 at home.

Washington was led by Spencer Dinwiddie, who had 24 points and 11 assists. Kyle Kuzma added 22 points, and Davis Bertans added 19.

Miami was without eight players, including three due to COVID protocols: Kyle Lowry, Max Strus and Udonis Haslem. Strus and Haslem were added to the list just prior to Tuesday's game.

The Wizards were also without eight players, including three of their top five scorers: Bradley Beal, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell.

Still, Washington led by as many as three points early, but Miami went on an 18-3 run and closed the first quarter with a 38-24 lead. The Heat played a brilliant quarter, shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, including 6-of-11 on three-pointers (54.5 percent).

In fact, it wasn't until the second quarter that Miami was charged with its first turnover. The Heat stretched their lead to 17 points before going into halftime with a 65-51 advantage.

Herro led all first-half scorers with 20 points.

The Heat kept rolling in the third quarter, stretching their lead to 28 points. By the end of the period, Miami led 91-73.

Washington nearly made a miraculous comeback, cutting its deficit to 117-112 with 28 seconds left, but the Wizards couldn't get any closer.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Miami
Spencer Dinwiddie 24 Scoring Tyler Herro 32
Spencer Dinwiddie 11 Assists Jimmy Butler 15
Daniel Gafford 11 Rebounds Omer Yurtseven 14
Spencer Dinwiddie 4 Free Throws Made Jimmy Butler 9
Craig Sword 3 Steals Gabe Vincent 4
Deni Avdija 2 Blocks Jimmy Butler 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 112 49.4 17-42 11-14 27 47 3 5 18
Miami 119 44.6 16-34 21-23 26 42 5 14 8
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Heat have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .692 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Wizards have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .471 after a loss.