LeBron James star of the show, as Miami thrash Wizards
With the Miami Heat struggling to find its rhythm and speculation rife about player unrest, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called in a half-hour meeting with LeBron James on Monday afternoon to sort out the issues. This proved to be a good move as Miami returned
to winning ways, thrashing the Washington Wizards 105-94 in what was mostly a lopsided contest.
The Wizards, who have been winless on the road (0-8) this season, continued their miserable run, as they were overwhelmed by a seemingly rejuvenated Miami team.
The Heat, who have been held below 100-points in their last six games, finally managed to break the jinx as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led the offensive charge. James scored 30 points shooting 10-for-18, five assists and six rebounds as the ‘Big Three’
combined for 72 percent (76 out of 105) of the Miami points.
Both teams shared the honours in the opening minutes of the game before LeBron James decided to let it rip. The two-time reigning MVP netted 20 of his 30 points in the first half, as the Heat raced to a 52-44 lead heading into the locker room.
The Wizards pegged back the Heat a little at the start of the second half, and came within striking distance at 49-55 with a Andray Blatche free throw one and half minutes into the third quarter.
Miami, who got thumped 31-17 in the third quarter by the Mavericks in their last game, were not willing to let it go that easy this time around. Dwyane Wade, who had been off color for the last few matches, stepped up his game big time and took just over
six minutes to score 15 points, as Miami shot into an 80-69 lead going into the final quarter.
Wade didn’t finish just there, as he turned the heat on in the fourth quarter as well. His driving layup shot with just under eight minutes left on the clock boosted the Heat to a 94-72 lead – their biggest of the match.
The Wizards tried to rally back and outscored the Heat 22-11 in the rest of the quarter, including a 9-point unanswered spurt down the stretch, but it was too little too late as Miami cruised to victory.
Andray Blatche scored 26, while Gilbert Arenas chipped in with 23 points, but the Wizards shot a paltry 41.7 percent as they fell for the eighth time in their last nine encounters to the Heat.
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