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.

Pelle Larsson and Terry Rozier each scored 15 for Miami, which has gotten each of its last five wins by at least 10 points.

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 points.

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 points.

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.

What’s gratifying about this winning streak is “just how we rallied around each other,” Herro said. “It feels like we’re really connected. It feels like everyone’s covering for each other and we’re all playing really well off each other right now.” Miami opened with a lineup of Adebayo, Herro, Kel’el Ware, Larsson and Alec Burks for the second game in a row. The Heat scored a season-high 68 points in the paint against a Washington defense that seemed disinterested at times. “Well, our aggressiveness was there, for sure,” Spoelstra said. “Almost 70 in the paint, 22 in transition, 15 offensive rebounds. These are the things that we really have been emphasizing and we put it together.” Poole scored 35 points for the Wizards, who entered the night tied with Utah for fewest wins in the league at 16. ▪ The Heat’s simmering distance shooting cooled off, but it hardly mattered. Miami entered having shot 52 percent on threes in the previous four games, considerably better than its 36.6 average for the season, which ranks 14th

On Monday, Miami shot just 3 for 17 from distance in the first half, then missed its first two threes of the second half and finished the night 9 for 32 (28.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Herro, who had shot 15 for 24 on threes in his past four games, shot 0 for 6 on threes. Burks, who shot 16 for 30 on threes over the past four games, shot 1 for 5. But the Heat shot 50.5 percent overall, getting to the basket virtually anytime it pleased. Miami shot 38 for 61 on two-point attempts. Errant three-point shooting from the Heat’s wings is usually a problem in losses, but it wasn’t against a putrid team on Monday. “Just finding different ways to score,” Herro said of the team compensating for Monday’s three-point struggles. “Obviously, we have an identity we want to get to offensively. We have a bunch of guys that when you run them off the three-point line or shots are not falling, we can get into the paint and make plays for each other. And obviously having Bam and Kal’el down there, offensive rebounding, second-chance points are also key when shots aren’t falling.”