The Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards on Friday night to open the season.
After dropping their last four games, they needed a victory, and who better to bounce back against than the weakest defence in the league? Miami exploited the Wizards’ No. 30 defensive unit, shooting 60 percent of the time from the floor to score 121 points.
With 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, Tyler Herro came dangerously close to achieving his second triple double of the season. With six games played, he has averaged 25.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, five assists, and 1.2 steals, making it one of the best season starts in franchise history.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo added 38 points to round out the Big Three’s scoring. The bench contributed 48 points, with Duncan Robinson leading the way on an 18-point performance shooting 50 percent from 3-point range.
But it wouldn’t be a Heat game if it wasn’t too close for comfort. The Heat nearly blew their 25-point lead in the fourth quarter, stressing out fans during the game’s final moments.
The Heat held on in the end, but many wished it was a larger margin of victory than the final result.
Still, a win is a win, and fans were just happy to remain victorious instead of suffering a fifth consecutive loss.
The Heat face a Western conference contender in the Los Angeles Lakers (3-2) Monday night.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University.
He can be reached at or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
