Hassan Whiteside had 21 points (18 in the paint) and 18 rebounds, and the Miami Heat went on a 15-4 run in the third quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 115-109.
It was tied at 80 when Justise Winslow’s layup put the Heat ahead for good with 3:54 left in the third quarter. Bam Adebayo scored 6 points as they pulled away to a 95-84 lead with 14 seconds left in the quarter.
The Wizards got within 110-109 on Bradley Beal’s pull-up 3-pointer with 1:07 to play, but Winslow answered with a driving layup, and the Wizards got no closer.
Adebayo’s free throw with 19.4 seconds left made it 113-109 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Heat outscored the Wizards 8-5. In the fourth quarter, Otto Porter Jr. had 2 of his 3 steals.
For the Wizards, Beal had 33 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and Trevor Ariza added 21 points (15 on 5 3-pointers) and 6 assists but shot 6 for 19.
The Heat shot 48.4% from the field and 31.0% from 3 to the Wizards’ 42.9% and 27.8%. The Heat’s starters outscored the Wizards 46-33 in 15 minutes together.