Miami

Heat Beat Wizards, Remain in Ninth

The Heat beat the Wizards 106-103 on Saturday, but remained in ninth place in the conference standings

The Miami Heat pulled off a 106-103 upset win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday, but remained in ninth place.

Miami is tied with the Chicago Bulls, but would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. The Bulls who also lost on Saturday, own the tiebreaker over the Heat and sit in eighth place. The Heat do not control their own destiny and will need help even if they win their final two games.

The teams entered the half locked at 52 apiece, before Miami opened up a lead in the third quarter. The Heat outscored the Wizards by four points in the third quarter and then held off a Washington rally in the final minutes.

James Johnson was a key reason for the win, with a tremendous fourth quarter. The forward scored most of Miami's points down the stretch and had 15 in the game overall. Johnson also added 11 rebounds for a double-double. As he has done often this season, the forward filled the box score with five assists, a steal and a block.

Hassan Whiteside led Miami with 30 points and also had 12 rebounds. The center even had two assists in the win, to go along with two steals and a pair of blocks.

Miami's bench helped out as well with 33 points combined. As has been the case for much of the season, Tyler Johnson led the reserves with 19 points in his 37 minutes.

Miami's penultimate game of the season will come on Monday when it hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m.

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