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“We remember his first scouting report, up there shaking, he didn’t know what he was talking about,” Arenas said.
Arenas had a prime view of the Wizards’ 107-106 overtime win against the Miami Heat on Friday, but it wasn’t exactly Beal he was watching at the end of a dramatic game.
With less than 10 seconds left in overtime, Beal held the ball at the top of the arc, tried to get open but instead dished to a cutting Taj Gibson, the team’s 37-year-old, third-string center. Gibson’s attempt at a short-range floater was off, but fortunately for Washington so was Miami’s attempt at the other end with less than two seconds on the clock after a pair of timeouts.
The Wizards (9-7) will gladly take a win any day of the week, but Friday’s was more an escape than a victory.
The Heat (7-9) was without a staggering nine players because of injuries when its came to Washington, including its top three scorers in Jimmy Butler (knee), Bam Adebayo (knee) and Tyler Herro (ankle).
Yet even the dregs of its roster looked more assured, in better shape and more energized than the Wizards. Miami led by 15 points in the first half behind a dual effort from Kyle Lowry and Max Strus, who stepped up in their flashier teammates’ stead.
Lowry gave Washington fits all night and logged a triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists (Miami had 23 assists in total). Strus worked as a sharpshooter all night and racked up 22 points.
Together they combined for seven three-pointers.
Nineteen-year-old Nikola Jovic, the 27th pick in this year’s draft and the Heat’s youngest starter ever according to the Associated Press, added 18 points.
Trouble began at the start of the second quarter, which the Heat opened with a 14-5 run against Washington’s bench. The Wizards were without backup guard Jordan Goodwin (left knee soreness), an added challenge for a unit that has been flat for the past handful of games. They were similarly uninspiring Friday.
Miami worked its zone defense well enough, but it was Washington’s defense that made the difference in a negative way by fouling far too much. The Heat made 25 of 32 shots at the free throw line compared with the Wizards’ paltry 10 of 14.
Beal led the team with 27 points and eight assists to balance out seven turnovers. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and Kyle Kuzma added 21 points and eight rebounds.
Corey Kispert added 17 points off the bench.
Beal and Kuzma combined to send the game to overtime after a tight fourth quarter. Beal had the ball in his hands near the end of regulation, this time identifying an excellent pass.
He swung the ball from near half court with all the strength his upper body could muster to find Kuzma deep in the corner, and Kuzma hit a three-pointer to send the crowd into a frenzy. Lowry missed a rushed, last-second floater on the other end to send the game to overtime tied at 104.
Arenas, calmly watching without standing up with the rest of the crowd at Capital One Arena, clapped from his seat at midcourt.
Here’s what else you need to know about the Wizards’ victory:
Arenas was in town because the Wizards honored him, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler — their “Big Three” — as a part of the team’s ongoing celebration of the 25th anniversary since the Bullets became the Wizards. Butler is an assistant coach with the Heat.
Overstuffed injury reports haven’t been rare in the past few years as teams have dealt with covid-19 outbreaks on the roster. But the Heat, without a single player in the league’s health and safety protocols, pulled off a feat Friday with nine players sidelined. It had more assistant coaches than available players on the bench.
In addition to Butler, Adebayo and Herro, Dewayne Dedmon (non-covid illness), Udonis Haslem (personal reasons), Victor Oladipo (knee) and Duncan Robinson (hand) sat out. Gabe Vincent (knee) was in uniform but not available. Former Georgetown big man Omer Yurtseven (ankle) and Oladipo (knee) have yet to play a game this season because of longer-term injuries.
A short night for Gafford
Backup center Daniel Gafford picked up two fouls in less than five minutes on court and spend the rest of his night on the bench. He didn’t score or grab a rebound, and he wasn’t the only unproductive member of the second unit — wing Will Barton also went scoreless and had just one rebound Friday.
Gibson played in Gafford’s place and had eight rebounds. Rui Hachimura, predictably solid, had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Backup guard Delon Wright was initially scheduled to be reevaluated this week after suffering a hamstring strain in late October. Unseld had no update on Wright and said the medical staff would look at him by the end of the weekend.
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