MIAMI — John Wall scored 20 points and added 10 assists, Nene scored 20 off the bench and the Washington Wizards rallied to beat the Miami Heat 105-103 on Friday night.
Bradley Beal scored 16 and Paul Pierce added 14 for the Wizards, who won their sixth straight.
Dwyane Wade finished with 28 points for Miami, which dropped its fifth straight home game and is now 4-9 on its own floor this season. Luol Deng scored 19, Mario Chalmers had 14 and Udonis Haslem 11 for the Heat.
Miami had a shot to tie the game with 11 seconds left, but Beal intercepted a pass by Wade and made two free throws to clinch the win. Wade hit a 3-pointer as time expired.
The Heat led by as many as eight in the third and took a 79-76 lead into the final quarter, and the lead was still five midway through the fourth.
It just wasn’t enough.
Pierce scored on a tip-in to break a 95-95 tie, and after Chalmers was called for an illegal screen on the ensuing Miami possession Wall hit a jumper with 1:01 left to give the Wizards a four-point lead.
Wade hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to get Miami within one, but the Heat never got the lead back. Miami led for the first 20 minutes of the second half, trailed for just 1:54 after halftime, and lost again.
Miami shot a season-best 65 per cent in the first half, yet went into the break only up 55-54.
The Heat turned the ball over twice as often as the Wizards did in the first 24 minutes (10-5), plus allowed Washington to turn eight offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points in the opening two quarters.
Still, it was progress — the first time in four games that Miami would lead at some point in the second half at home.
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TIP-INS
Wizards: All five Washington starters had exactly two field goals apiece in the first half. … Pierce returned after missing Tuesday’s win over Minnesota with a sore toe on his right foot. … Nene became the sixth player to score at least 16 points off the Washington bench this season, joining Rasual Butler, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Kris Humphries and Kevin Seraphin. … Now at 19-6, the Wizards have matched the best 25-game start in team history.
Heat: Miami used its 12th starting unit in 27 games, and the third straight different lineup. … On a layup with 9:46 left in the second quarter, Wade passed Chris Mullin for 65th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Mullin finished his career with 17,911 points. … Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez sat courtside. … Haslem had a 5-for-5 (or better) night for the fourth time in his career.
SPECIAL GUESTS
The Memphis and BYU football teams, in town for Monday’s inaugural Miami Beach Bowl, were in attendance. Each team had a few players compete in a halftime shooting contest; Memphis’ group beat BYU’s in a timed race to see who could make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer and half-court shot quickest.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Phoenix on Sunday.
Heat: Host Boston on Sunday.
