Field Level Media
08 Feb 2026, 13:10 GMT+10
(Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
After a pair of disappointing results, the Miami Heat will travel to face the undermanned Washington Wizards in the nation's capital on Sunday afternoon.
Miami has dropped consecutive games, including a 98-96 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday in which it squandered a 22-point lead. The Heat were one of the few teams to not make a move before Thursday's trade deadline. Head coach Erik Spoelstra's team appears to be content in its current form, but it also has to take advantage of a generous upcoming schedule.
Miami is hanging on to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference standings as it prepares for games against Washington (14-37), Utah (16-37) and New Orleans (14-40). The Heat had a chance to start a winning streak on Friday but scored just 37 points in the second half of their loss to Boston.
'The guys really competed hard, but we're not looking for a moral victory,' Spoelstra said. 'It's disappointing, but we're going to get better from it. As painful as this is, it's going to drive us, and I feel we're going to get there.'
For Miami's leading scorer Norman Powell (23 points per game), the key to stringing together consistency starts with playing a full game.
'It's very frustrating,' Powell said of blowing the 22-point lead. 'Like I've said before, we have to put a full, 48-minute game together and that's our Achilles heel. In the third quarter, we need to play with the same mentality that we start the games with, and then sustain it through the second half. We play a good 24 minutes, we need to finish it with another good 24 minutes.'
Behind Powell, Bam Adebayo averages 18.1 points and 9.8 rebounds, while veteran Andrew Wiggins adds 15.8 points per game.
Washington, meanwhile, is clearly playing for next season. Although the lowly Wizards have won four of their last seven, the team is playing far from full strength. In Washington's 127-113 road loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Alex Sarr (ankle), Kyshawn George (knee), Tre Johnson (ankle) and Bilal Coulibaly (lower back) all sat.
Recent additions Trae Young (knee) and Anthony Davis (hand/groin) haven't appeared in a game for the Wizards. Davis, who was shipped from Dallas on Wednesday, will reportedly sit out the rest of the season in D.C.
A young member of Washington's core that is suiting up -- and playing well -- is rookie Will Riley. The first-round pick out of Illinois poured in a career-high 27 points on Saturday, drilling four triples in the loss.
'He's got such a unique skill set and size to be able to read the defense, I think he's just getting more comfortable within our offense where he can pick his spots,' Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said of Riley. 'He's pretty gifted in ways that he processes the game and sees angles. We've been pleased with him.'
Riley is averaging 19 points per game across Washington's last five outings.
The two Southeast Division rivals are meeting for the first time this season, with Miami searching for its fifth win in six games in the series.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Chicago Chronicle news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Chicago Chronicle.
More InformationSINGAPORE/LONDON: After a bruising week that rattled risk assets, bitcoin staged a tentative rebound on February 6, climbing back above...
MILAN, Italy: Stellantis' decision to rein in its electric-vehicle ambitions landed with a thud on markets on February 6, as the automaker...
NEW YORK City, New York: When more than 120 million people tune in for Super Bowl 60, advertisers will be pitching just as hard as...
DUBLIN, Ireland: There have been more electric cars sold in Ireland's new car market than petrol and diesel models this month. In...
SINGAPORE: U.S. drone manufacturers are stepping up efforts to win customers across Asia, pitching combat-proven technology to regional...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Tired of the bullying, bluster, and threats from U.S. President Donald Trump with regard to tariffs, countries that...
LOS ANGELES, California: Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody on January 30 after being arrested and charged with violating...
(Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images) After a pair of disappointing results, the Miami Heat will travel to face the undermanned...
(Photo credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images) James Harden won in his debut with Cleveland, as he and Donovan Mitchell combined to score...
(Photo credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images) Seth Trimble hit a 3-pointer for No. 14 North Carolina with 0.4 seconds left for the Tar...
(Photo credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images) Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 26 points, including 11 in overtime, and dished out 15 assists as...
(Photo credit: David Banks-Imagn Images) Jamal Murray scored 28 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 and Nikola Jokic posted his second...
