Miami Heat Visit Washington Wizards: Game 27 Preview

The Miami Heat visit the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in the Chinatown district of Washinton D.C. tonight. This is the first of three contests to be played between the two clubs this season, and the first of two in Washington. Miami is playing in the second game of a six game road trip. They lost their first game, 102-89 to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, and go on to face the Atlanta Hawks, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers before finishing up against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Washington is finishing up a four game homestand. They lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 107-81 on Saturday, beat the Toronto Raptors in overtime, 111-108 on Monday, and lost to the New York Knicks, 107-93 on Wednesday. After tonight's game, they hit the road for a five game road trip, starting against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Washington has a 4-11 home record, Miami is 7-5 on the road.

These teams are playing each other for the first time this season. They last played on March 30th of last season, with the Heat winning, 123-107. LeBron James led Miami with 35 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Dwyane Wade pitched in with 33 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Chris Bosh had 26 points and eight rebounds, as the three combined to shoot 31-of-48 from the field, a 65 percent clip. Washington was led by Jordan Crawford, who scored a game high 39 points. Maurice Evans scored 21 for the Wizards. A second quarter altercation led to the ejections of the Wizards' John Wall and Miami's Zydrunas Ilglauskas and Juwan Howard. Chris Bosh remarked when asked about the fight, according to NBA.COM,

"I didn't see anything. I was sitting down. I was biting my nails or something on the bench."

Miami vs Washington NBA Highlights 03/30/11 (via bballfansite)

Miami is coming off a 102-89 road loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday behind a monster game courtesy of Dwight Howard, who scored 25 points along with 24 rebounds. Ryan Anderson also had a good night, scoring 27 while grabbing 11 boards. Miami was led by Dwyane Wade, who scored 33 points with three blocks. LeBron James scored 17 with 10 assists and six rebounds in the loss. Orlando connected on 17-of-42 three point attempts, causing Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to quip, according to NBA.COM,

"Obviously the amount of 3s they were able to take and make really made the difference in the game."

Miami Heat Vs Orlando Magic 2-8-12 Highlights HD (via MsGeneration88)

The Wizards lost a 107-93 game to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Knicks were playing without their two biggest stars, as Carmelo Anthony sat with a strained groin and Amare Stoudamire was out for personal reasons. They weren't needed, as Tyson Chandler scored 25 points with 11 rebounds, Jeremy Lin scored 23 with 10 assists, and three other players scored over 16 to give New York the edge. John Wall led the Wizards with 29 points and six assists. Jeremy Lin tossed down the first dunk of his NBA career in the third quarter. Tyson Chandler talked with the press later, according to NBA.COM,

"I didn't know he could dunk. When he's going in for the dunk I'm like 'no Jeremy, just lay the ball up.' And all of a sudden he dunks it and I was probably just as excited as the crowd was."

New York Knicks Vs Washington Wizards 2-8-12 Highlights HD (via MsGeneration88)

Standings:

Miami Heat: 19-7, first in the Southeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference, third in the NBA. on pace for a 48-18 record. Last five games: L-W-W-W-L

Washington Wizards: 5-21, fourth in the Southeast Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference, 28th in the NBA, on pace for a 13-53 record. Last five games: L-L-L-W-L

Season Series: 0-0

All-Time Series: Miami, 66-28

Gametime: 7:00 ET