WASHINGTON – Terry Rozier III scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 22 and the Miami Heat grinded out a 119-107 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points for the Heat, who won their second straight. Miami, seventh in the Eastern Conference, went 25 for 29 from the free throw line to move within a half-game of Indiana in the race to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
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Jordan Poole scored 22 points and Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Washington on a night Wizards leading scorer Kyle Kuzma sat out with a bruised right heel. Anthony Gill tied a career high with 18 points for the Wizards, who have lost three in a row following a season-high three-game win streak.
Miami hit seven 3-pointers - half of their total makes all game - to take control during a 24-7 run that stretched across halftime. Rozier hit the final two before the interval, the second giving the Heat a 66-59 edge at the break, their largest lead to that point.
Robinson hit two more 3s early in the third, and after Rozier and Jovic added two more 3s the lead had grown to 78-62.
Butler scored five straight points in the fourth on a dunk from a back-door cut and then a three-point play to restore Miami’s lead to 112-97, after the Wizards briefly cut the deficit down to 10.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host New York on Tuesday night.
Wizards: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday night.