Heat get 55 points from Herro, Adebayo to roll past Wizards for fifth straight win
Bam Adebayo had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Tyler Herro added 27 points and the Miami Heat rolled past the Washington Wizards 120-94 on Monday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Heat (34-41) became the third team in NBA history to immediately follow a losing streak of at least 10 games with a winning streak of at least five games. The 2021-22 Houston Rockets lost 15 straight and then won seven in a row, and the 2017-18 Chicago Bulls lost 10 straight before winning seven in a row.
Jordan Poole had 35 points in 29 minutes for the Wizards. Poole hit seven 3-pointers, raising his season total to 228 and eclipsing the franchise record of 223 by Bradley Beal in 2016-17. Tristan Vukcevic added 14 off the Washington bench.
Takeaways
Heat: Miami was again without Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson because of injuries and Kevin Love for personal reasons. Davion Mitchell was a late scratch with a stomach illness.
Wizards: It was Washington’s 49th loss of the season by double digits and its 23rd loss by at least 20 points. The Wizards have only five double-digit wins this season, none of them by more than 18 point
Pelle Larsson and Terry Rozier each scored 15 for Miami, which has gotten each of its last five wins by at least 10 points.
A 15-0 run in the first quarter put Miami in control for good.
Key stat
The Heat had 68 points in the paint and 62 rebounds.
Up next
Miami finishes a three-game road trip Wednesday at Boston. Washington continues its homestand Wednesday against Sacramento.
Heat drubs Wizards for fifth win in row. Takeaways from good nights from Adebayo, Herro
Takeaways from the Heat’s 120-94 drubbing of the dreadful Wizards on Monday in Washington, pushing Miami’s winning streak to five:
▪ The Heat took control early and was never seriously challenged by the Eastern Conference’s worst team. Fueled by Bam Adebayo’s best first quarter of the season, the Heat unleashed an early 17-2 run, surged ahead 34-17 and 36-23 after one. The Wizards closed the first half on a 16-8 spurt to close to within 58-47 at the break. Washington pulled to within 10 early in the third, but the Heat pushed its cushion to 92-75 after three, despite Jordan Poole scoring 18 in the quarter. The Heat’s two best players were at the epicenter of Monday’s dominant win, Miami’s fifth in a row by double digits. Adebayo was stupendous early; Herro was magnificent in the second half. “The guys follow their energy, their disposition, their urgency,” Erik Spoelstra said. “The team is gaining a lot of confidence. We have a lot of guys out right now. It’s really a collective energy right now and guys are pouring life into each other, following Tyler and Bam, and then other guys are contributing.”
Adebayo closed the first quarter with 16 points (tied for his highest point total of the season in any quarter) on 7 for 10 shooting with six rebounds and two assists. He went to the half with 20 and finished the night with 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes. Herro, meanwhile, had a slow start (3 for 10 from the field; four first quarter points) but came alive in the second half and delivered 27 points (9 for 19 shooting) with five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 33 minutes. The Heat got good work from its bench, which was playing without Davion Mitchell, and from rookie Pelle Larsson, who had 15 points (7 for 13 shooting), seven rebounds and five assists and a steal.
