Heat Vs. Wizards Final Score: Miami Pulls Away For 123-107 Win After John Wall Ejection

The Wizards lost John Wall to ejection in the first half, but didn't lose to the Heat until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, when Miami ran away with a 123-107 win, the score appearing much cushier than the contest.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh filled up the stat sheet for Miami, but the Wizards battled with much less heralded bunch. Jordan Crawford led the way with 39 points, but it was his fearlessness in the face of the Big Three that epitomized this effort by Washington.

The Wizards have played Miami close this season, choking away a win at home early in the season, and playing the Heat tough for three quarters in Miami. But this was a different team, and this was the most impressive effort of the three. 

It seems a little silly to take moral victories from games that end with blowout scores, but there's no doubt the Wizards showed something on Wednesday night. Of course, how much that matters in the long run is a different matter.    

Heat Vs. Wizards: John Wall Throws Punch, Gets Ejected, Miami Leads 63-52

When the dust settled on the most eventful first half as we've seen, the Miami Heat led the Wizards by a score of 63-52. However, the game action took a back seat to a blow up that ended with ejections for John Wall, Zydrudnas Ilguaskas and Juwon Howard.

The incident occurred in the second quarter. Big Z used his elbow once to clear out space, brushing back Wall in the head. He did it again, which prompted Wall to swing off. More pushing and shoving followed. Video below courtesy of @BlazersEdge. SB Nation DC overlordMike Prada wrote more about the John Wall punch here.

The excitement from the fracas has muted the return of Andray Blatche, who has been effective if not explosive in his return. He told me before the game that the main difference between how he feels now is that he can actually shoot the ball. Fair enough. Blatche has put that ability to work with 11 points to go with seven rebounds. Still not much lift around the basket, but what can you do.

Dwyane Wade has picked up where he left off, killing the Wizards. He leads the Heat with 22 points.

VIDEO: John Wall Ejected After Punching Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Heat Vs. Wizards: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade Invade Verizon Center

The Wizards are back in D.C. Too bad LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and the Heat are in Washington to welcome them home. John Wall and Co. have their hands full as the gang tries to build their second road win of the season into a winning streak.

The Heat are on the second night of a back-to-back, having lost to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night in LeBron James' second return to Cleveland. For the the Cavs and the city, it was a sweet victory. For Miami it was a nuisance -- a misstep in the race with Boston for the No. 2 seed in the East. The Wizards might face that wrath tonight.

For Washington, Monday night's win against the Jazz was a positive step for a team that has long lacked a reason to play hard, if reaching the postseason is any team's chief motivator. John Wall was brilliant in the first half, and Jordan Crawford carried the weight late. Sure, it was an ugly win against a team going through its own problems. But it was a road win, and those have been more than hard to come by this season -- they've rarely even seem possible.

The Wizards have played Miami close this season. If the Wizards feel half as good about themselves as I did watching that win in Utah, we should be treated to another good one.

For more on the Wizards, check out Bullets Forever. Read more about the heat over at Peninsula Is Mightier.