Butler Leads Wizards Past Tired Wade, Heat

Wizards 96, Heat 74 (F)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (AP) -- Dwyane Wade was weary, Shaquille O'Neal wasn't around, and the Miami Heat never stood much of a chance against the balanced Washington Wizards.

Andray Blatche scored 18 points, the Wizards led by as many as 30, and they beat the Heat 96-74 Saturday night, Miami's fourth loss in a row.

It was the lowest point total for the Heat - or any Wizards opponent - this season.

Washington is without its share of key players, too - most notably All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels - but has adjusted well.

Caron Butler scored 16 for Washington, and Antawn Jamison added 15 points and nine rebounds.

A night after playing 51 1/2 minutes, Wade looked sluggish at times and finished with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting, along with seven turnovers, in 27 minutes. He didn't play at all in the fourth quarter and ended his streak of leading the team in scoring in each of the previous eight games.

This time, Ricky Davis put up 22 points for Miami, which is only two seasons removed from an NBA championship yet stands last in the Eastern Conference at 8-23. Reserve Luke Jackson scored 14, meaning Wade was only third on the team in points.

Going into this season, Miami had won 15 of 16 games against Washington, but the Wizards are 2-0 against the Heat this month.

Washington never trailed Saturday, using a 12-0 run bridging the end of the second quarter and start of the third to take control. The Heat went 8 1/2 minutes without making a field goal, and when that drought finally ended on Daequan Cook's running 9-foot bank shot midway through the third quarter, the Wizards were ahead 68-42.

Blatche's layup with 9 1/2 minutes left in the game gave Washington its biggest lead at 86-56. The Heat scored the next 15 points - but they never cut the deficit smaller than 15 the rest of the way.

Both teams were short-handed, both were playing on a second consecutive night and both showed signs of fatigue at times. The Heat, though, looked far more wiped out.

"This is the NBA. It's insane sometimes,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said, "especially when you're going through what we're going through.''

O'Neal missed a second straight game with a hip problem, while another starter, point guard Jason Williams, sat out with left knee tendinitis. Neither traveled to Washington, nor did guards Chris Quinn (left ankle) or Smush Parker, who hasn't played in a month after a confrontation with a female valet parking attendant. Plus, forward Dorell Wright played just under 13 minutes Saturday before departing with an ankle injury.

All the absences put that much more pressure on Wade, who scored 48 points in Friday's overtime loss to Orlando. He looked exhausted Saturday, compiling six turnovers by halftime and putting up an airball late in the second quarter.

Before the game, Riley compared his star to a champion thoroughbred - one that's spent.

"Today he's like Secretariat. He's, like, sore. And that you're going to have to deal with. So we've been rubbing him all day, brushing him down,'' Riley said with a laugh. "He's going to be sore tonight. We've just got to get him loose, and we've got to be conscious of it. I think he's going to go through that for probably most of the year, until his body just totally comes back.''

source : NBA.com