The Miami Heat were at home Tuesday night to take on Spencer Dinwiddie and the Washington Wizards. The Heat came into this one only having eight players available due to injuries and health and safety protocols. Washington was also depleted in this one, leaving new players to be introduced to the system just hours before tip-off. Miami actually lost a player after the pregame warmups and the Heat were forced to adapt to the situation and play with the cards they were dealt. This wasn’t an easy night for either team, but in the end, Miami was able to make better of a bad situation.
Three players stood out for the short-handed Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Young phenom Tyler Herro had a season-high 32 points off the bench while shooting 9/10 from the free-throw line. When asked about his play Herro modestly had this to say: “Just continuing to get better.” Herro has been a bright spot for this Heat team who now sits at nine games above .500. Herro now has three 30-point games off the bench this season. Every other NBA player combined has six.
Duncan Robinson shot the lights out in this one; putting up 16 three pointers and hitting half of them to finish the night with 26 points in 35 minutes of play. Finally, team leader Jimmy Butler came to play. Butler nearly had a triple-double, coming up just two rebounds short. Butler finished the night with 25 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds while also being a defensive anchor for Miami.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Kuzma did the heavy lifting for the Wizards. Dinwiddie played 41 minutes and recorded 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while shooting 8/16 from the field. Kuzma had 22 points while shooting the ball a tad bit more inefficient than Dinwiddie, at 8/19. The depleted Wizards squad kept working striking distance of the Heat for the majority of the game but just could never close the gap.
Next Up
The Heat travel to San Antonio on Wednesday for the second game of a back-to-back.
(Featured image by Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)