Two Southeast Division foes resume their rivalry tonight,
as the Washington Wizards host the Miami Heat at the Verizon Center.
Miami won all four meetings with Washington last season, one year after the
Wizards swept a four-game season series. The Heat have had the upper hand,
however, with a 19-5 mark in the previous 25 matchups. Miami has won nine of
the past 12 trips to the nation's capital.
The Heat had a three-game season-opening winning streak come to an end with
Tuesday's 104-96 home setback versus the high-scoring Phoenix Suns. Star
Dwyane Wade finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while
Quentin Richardson chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.
"It just came down to the Suns sustaining it," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra
said. "They got to their game more consistently and did better getting to
their game than we did getting to our game in the second half."
Udonis Haslem pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and netted 10 points in a
losing effort. After tonight's game in DC, the Heat will begin a five-game
homestand versus Denver, Washington, Cleveland, New Jersey and Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile, the Wizards have alternated wins and losses over their first four
games of the 2009-10 season and suffered a 102-90 loss against the Cleveland
Cavaliers on Tuesday from Quicken Loans Arena.
Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with 22 points, seven rebounds and five
assists. Arenas is averaging 26.5 points this season and Caron Butler, playing
with a bruised knee, posted 17 of his 22 points in the first half after
missing the previous contest.
"The guys that really hurt us were their perimeter [players]. Their three-
point shots probably did us in as much as anything," Wizards first-year head
coach Flip Saunders said.
Cleveland sank of 11-of-26 three-point attempts against Washington, which is
eighth in scoring and rated 13th in defense.
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