Well, to pretty much everyone’s surprise, the Wizards doubled their season victory total, beating the Heat 105-101 on Tuesday night behind Jordan Crawford’s 22 points – and despite James’ triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists…
The Wizards improved to 2-13, earning their second win in the past three games after starting a franchise-worst 0-12…
Afterward, with his feet soaking in a tub of ice, and his eyes scanning a box score, James chuckled a bit at the notion that Miami might learn something from the surprising setback.
”Nah, man, there’s not no lesson. This ain’t a lesson for us. We just lost,” James explained. ”We’ve seen and been through everything, so we don’t need a loss to be like, ‘Oh, let’s catch ourselves.’ It happens.”
He missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left that could have given the Heat a lead, and another from beyond the arc that would have tied the score with 3.9 to go…
With a crowd of 17,761 – not, incidentally, a sellout – standing and screaming down the stretch, relishing that rare chance to witness a compelling game, Kevin Seraphin contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts, while Crawford made three free throws in the final 11 seconds…
— Reported by Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press
Miami’s all-star trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 70 points, but the Wizards helped keep the rest of the Heat players in check. The Heat (12-4) also struggled from beyond the three-point line, missed 20 of its 28 attempts from long distance, including five in a row after former Wizard Mike Miller made a three-pointer that brought his team within 97-95 with 4 minutes 16 seconds left.
James had his first triple-double of the season with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists but he missed a three-pointer that could’ve tied the score with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Nene clinched the victory by grabbing the rebound and making a free throw.
“We know that every team is going to come playing their very best. They’re going to make shots they normally don’t make,” said James, who learned how much the tides have turned since he became an NBA champion, as he received the loudest cheers of any player; unusual for a player once despised in Washington during some infamous playoff battles with the Wizards between 2006-08.
— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post
