First-place Heat stuff slumping Wizards / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Credit Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Bam Adebayo scored 21 points, Jimmy Butler added 19 points and the Miami Heat never trailed as they defeated the host Washington Wizards 121-100 on Monday night.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Bam Adebayo Points 21 Accuracy 7-11 Rebounds 7 Assists 4

The Heat, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 35-20, improved to 22-12 against the East. They won despite missing star guard Tyler Herro, who is averaging 20.1 points per game, due to a sore right knee.

Miami also got 16 points and eight assists off the bench from Gabe Vincent, who made 6 of 9 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.

Washington lost its sixth straight home game and its eighth of nine overall. Bradley Beal, Washington's three-time All-Star, missed his fourth straight game due to a sprained left wrist.

Without Beal -- who leads the team in scoring and assists -- the Wizards were led by Corey Kispert. He had 20 points in 26 minutes off the bench.

Early on, it was all Miami as the Heat led 39-24 after one quarter. Vincent scored 11 points in four minutes in that opening quarter, making all three of his 3-pointers and 4 of 4 shots overall.

In fact, Vincent made one more triple, but he released that shot a split second after the first-quarter buzzer.

Even so, Miami made 58.3 percent of its first-quarter shots, including 6 of 11 on 3-pointers. Washington shot just 42.9 percent and 1 for 7 from distance.

Miami stretched its lead to 20 points at 46-26 with 9:55 left in the second quarter. But Washington outscored Miami 27-14 for the rest of the period, closing its halftime deficit to 60-53.

The Heat took control of the game in the third quarter, extending their lead to 91-70, and Miami cruised from there.

The Heat won by shooting 56.6 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from long range. Miami is now 3-2 on its six-game road trip.

Washington had a 58-40 edge in paint points, but the Wizards shot just 45.0 percent from the floor, making just 7 of 31 3-pointers (22.6 percent).

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