Wizards Vs. Heat: Wizards Can't Take The Heat, Lose To Miami Again

The Washington Wizards continued their slide down the NBA's Eastern Conference standings after Friday night's 106-89 home defeat to the Miami Heat at the Verizon Center. Losers of two straight games, the Wizards find themselves 15 games behind the first place Heat in the Southeast Division.

With a record of 5-22, the Wizards currently own the third worst record in the entire NBA. Only the Charlotte Bobcats at 3-23 and the New Orleans Hornets at 4-23 have fewer wins at this point in the season. After a 2-15 start under former head coach Flip Saunders, the Wizards are 3-7 since assistant Randy Wittman was given reigns in place of the fired Saunders.

The schedule ahead doesn't get much easier for Washington, as after Sunday night's game at Detroit they embark on a brutal West Coast trip, having to face Portland, the new-look LA Clippers and Utah Jazz in the coming week. Leading scorers Nick Young and John Wall will have to lead the way and produce on a consistent basis if the team plans on making this road trip a successful one.

For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever and stay tuned to SB Nation DC. For all your NBA news and notes, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.

Heat Vs. Wizards Quick-Hit Recap: Take 100 seconds to catch up on the news, notes and must-see from last night's Wizards action -- good and bad -- with 'Postive Pixels, Wicked Pixels.' It's your morning-after Wizards hangover cure.

Positive Pixels

• Big time crowd at the Verizon Center: One of the best teams in the NBA helped provide one of the biggest crowds of the season. Fans came out in droves to see LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in person. The crowd was not necessarily pro-Heat, as one might expect: most fans appeared to be casual basketball fans that wanted to witness a spectacle.
• John Wall: One of the few bright spots on the Wizards roster is John Wall. His quickness and court vision cannot be denied, and on several occasions he looked off the Heat defense to set up an alley-oop for his teammates.
• JaVale McGee played with passion: By the nine minute mark of the third quarter, McGee had already registered a double-double. Earlier in the game, he dunked right over Chris Bosh. It was awesome. Here's the proof:

The Washington Wizards kept it competitive for three-plus quarters against the Miami Heat on Friday, but Erik Spoelstra's squad eventually pulled away in a big fourth quarter for a comfortable 106-89 win. Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points, including 18 in the first half. Chris Bosh finished with 24 and LeBron James added 18. Miami has now beaten the Wizards seven straight times at the Verizon Center.

Javale McGee had one of his best games of the season, battling through the Miami front line for a season-high 24 points. McGee also had 13 boards and a couple of big dunks. Nick Young led Washington from the backcourt, chipping in 22 points. However, Young hit only three of ten attempts from behind the arc as the Wizards shot under 20 percent from downtown. John Wall had a double-double, scoring 15 points and dishing 10 assists, but also committing 7 turnovers.

The poor shooting from outside and at the free-throw line caught up to the Wizards and the Heat pulled away for the 17-point win. The Wizards now hit the road and will face the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening.

For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever. For a view from the other bench, please check out SB Nation's Miami Heat blog Peninsula is Mightier. And for more on this and every NBA game, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.

Not much needs to be said about this video. Dwyane Wade makes an incredible move towards the basket, rotating 360 degrees with JaVale McGee playing completely competent defense. Of course, the shot goes in and the crowd goes wild.

With one half in the books at Verizon Center, the Washington Wizards trail the Miami Heat, 52-42. The Big Three for the Heat have scored almost all of Miami's points thus far, with Dwyane Wade leading all scorers with 18. Miami has consistently been able to get to the rim and get easy buckets, finishing the half shooting better than 57 percent from the floor. LeBron James and Chris Bosh added ten points apiece.

The Wizards were ready to play from the tip, and had a productive start to the game on the offensive end. They already have 14 assists through the first 24 minutes - uncharacteristic for this team. But their shooting percentage would come down as the first half wore on. Javale McGee and Nick Young lead Washington with 13 points each. John Wall is just one of six from the floor and has scored only two points so far.

For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever. For a view from the other bench, please check out SB Nation's Miami Heat blog Pennisula is Mightier. And for more on this and every NBA game, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.

The star-laden Miami Heat roster has made its way to D.C. for a Friday night game against the Washington Wizards. At 19-7, Miami is currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Washington, on the other hand, is in 15th place with a 5-21 record.

Despite the disparity in the win column, tonight should be an eventful game at the Verizon Center. LeBron James and the city of Washington have never gotten along, with James being rightfully hated for bouncing the Wizards out of the playoffs while he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Miami has no listed injuries, but Terrel Harris is inactive. For the Wizards, Andray Blatche will miss the game with a strained left calf.

Rashard Lewis is also out for tonight's game with a sore left knee. "It's just a day to day thing," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said before the game. "It's getting better. Hopefully tomorrow, he'll come back in here feeling better. He's close to being able to play."

The game tips at 7:00 p.m. on Comcast Sports Net. Here are the full starting lineups.

Wizards Starters
John Wall, G
Nick Young, G
Chris Singleton, F
Trevor Booker, F
Javale McGee, C

Heat Starters
Mario Chalmers, G
Dwayne Wade, G
LeBron James, F
Chris Bosh, F
Joel Anthony, C

For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever. For a view from the other bench, please check out SB Nation's Miami Heat blog Pennisula is Mightier. And for more on this and every NBA game, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.

The Washington Wizards will host the Miami Heat Friday night at the Verizon Center in an Eastern Conference match up. For those who'd like to catch the game, here's the game time, TV information and links to the radio streams.

Location: Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Game Time: 7:00 p.m. on EST
TV Channel: Comcast Sports Network
Announcers: Steve Buckhantz (play-by-play), Phil Chenier (analyst)
Wizards Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan
Announcers: Dave Johnson (play-by-play), Glenn Consor (analyst)
Wizards-Heat line: Miami 12 1/2-point favorites.

We'll have plenty more on this game throughout the day on SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. For more on this game and all things Wizards basketball, please check out Bullets Forever. For a view from the other bench, please check out SB Nation's Miami Heat blog Pennisula is Mightier. And for more on this and every NBA game, please check out the SB Nation NBA hub page.