Heat on a mission to stop Wall, Beal in rematch vs. Wizards (Nov 17, 2017)
MIAMI -- Stop John Wall, and stop Bradley Beal ... that is the Miami Heat's mission.
As Miami (6-8) flies to the D.C. area to play Friday night's rematch against the Washington Wizards (9-5), you can bet coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff will be going over Wednesday's tape looking for answers on how to defend the guards, Wall and Beal.
Wall used his breakneck speed to record game highs in points (27) and assists (six) in Washington's 102-93 win over Miami on Wednesday. Wall was plus-18 in his 38 minutes.
In the 10 minutes he was not on the court, Miami outscored Washington by nine points.
Beal, meanwhile, made only 6-of-19 shots from the floor but converted 13-of-14 free throws to post 26 points. In contrast, the entire Miami team made just 16 free throws.
"It seemed like they were living in the paint and at the free-throw line," Spoelstra said of the Wizards, who have won four games in a row.
In addition, Beal, who also grabbed seven rebounds and produced two steals, verified after the game that defense is a major focus of the Wizards.
"We have had success keeping teams under 100 points and getting wins," Beal said. "When we continue to have a defensive mindset, we're a really good team. We showed a glimpse of it (Wednesday)."
Indeed, the Wizards held Miami to 41 percent shooting overall, and Washington also forced 17 turnovers -- five more than the Heat.
But there were some things Miami could build on as the Heat prepares for Friday's rematch.
For starters, the Heat made 13 3-pointers -- four more than Washington -- and shot 43.3 percent from deep. In other words, Miami shot better on 3-pointers than it did on two-pointers.
Miami also had a 15-8 advantage on second-chance points. Some of that can be attributed to Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who had 14 points and a game-high 21 rebounds.
The Heat also showed a superior bench on Wednesday, outscoring Washington 28-20. Miami reserve guard Tyler Johnson scored 15 points off the bench, earning praise from Wizards coach Scott Brooks.
"He's a handful," Brooks said. "He's powerful, quick and aggressive. He has a great handle. He's a matchup problem. I thought we did a pretty good job of staying in front of him. Hopefully, we can do it again on Friday."
Spoelstra, meanwhile, said cutting down on his team's turnovers will be a major point of emphasis going forward.
"What we can control are our decisions," Spoelstra said. "(Turnovers) have probably been most damaging to us all season long. It's our responsibility to take care of the ball."
The Heat, who have lost two games in a row, are 3-4 at home and 3-4 on the road.
Washington has a winning record at home (5-3) and on the road (4-2).
