National Basketball Association
Miami 115, Washington 109
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, January 4, 2019
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Officials: #51 Aaron Smith, #5 Kane Fitzgerald, #21 Dedric Taylor
Attendance: 19600

Hassan Whiteside posted 21 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks, leading the host Miami Heat to a 115-109 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Largely because of Whiteside, Miami enjoyed a 62-46 edge in paint points.

Washington's Bradley Beal, who scored a game-high 33 points, closed the Wizards' deficit to 110-109 on a 3-pointer with 67 seconds left. Beal added nine rebounds and seven assists in a stellar all-around effort.

Miami's Justise Winslow, converted from forward to point guard a couple of weeks ago when 2018 All-Star Goran Dragic had knee surgery, had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 assists.

It was a drive by Winslow with 43 seconds left that answered Beal's score, allowing Miami to pull away. Miami's Dwyane Wade was also big in the clutch, scoring nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

The Heat, which are 8-2 in their past 10 games, also got 18 points from shooting guard Josh Richardson and 17 points from forward James Johnson. Richardson converted two 3-pointers and has 13 consecutive games with multiple made shots from deep.

With the win, the Heat went over .500 at 19-18 for the first time since they started the season with a 3-2 record.

Besides Beal, Washington was led by Trevor Ariza, who scored 21 points. He made 5 of 12 on 3-pointers, and those five 3-pointers tied his season high.

Miami never trailed in the first quarter, taking a 31-24 lead.

Washington took its first lead of the game with 7:13 left in the second quarter on an Ariza 3-pointer. But, by the end of the half, Miami had regained the lead, 61-58.

Miami fell behind in the third but finished the quarter on a 15-6 run, taking a 95-86 lead. That set the stage for the game's final and dramatic moments in the fourth quarter.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Miami
Bradley Beal 33 Scoring Hassan Whiteside 21
Bradley Beal 7 Assists Justise Winslow 10
Bradley Beal 9 Rebounds Hassan Whiteside 18
Bradley Beal 9 Free Throws Made Josh Richardson 4
Otto Porter Jr. 3 Steals Tyler Johnson 2
Ian Mahinmi 2 Blocks Hassan Whiteside 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 109 42.9 10-36 15-19 24 41 2 8 12
Miami 115 48.4 9-29 18-25 28 48 6 7 17
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Heat have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Oklahoma City. The Wizards have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .391 after a loss.