WASHINGTON — These are the games the Miami Heat have become all too familiar with this season, the large lead on the road that suddenly isn’t that large at all.
This time it was 16 in the third quarter and then four midway through the fourth.
And then not a lead at all, but instead a 103-100 loss to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
On a night the Heat couldn’t make a 3-pointer early, the Wizards made them late.
And, so, an end to the Heat’s four-game winning streak.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 29 points, supported by 20 from Tyler Herro and 14 from P.J. Tucker, on a night Bam Adebayo was limited by foul trouble and Duncan Robinson was lost to a knee injury.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 21 points.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:
— 1. Closing time: The Wizards got within 85-81 with 7:34 to play, with Butler then scoring eight quick points, to make it 94-84 with 4:42 left.
But that’s when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was fouled on a successful 3-pointer by Max Strus, with his four-point play making it 94-88 with 4:17 left.
From there Washington got consecutive 3-pointers from Spencer Dinwiddie, Caldwell-Pope and Dinwiddie again to take a 99-96 lead with 1:43 to play.
Eventually, with 34.8 seconds to play, Adebayo got to the line, where he made a pair of free throws to get the Heat within 99-98.
Lowry then was called for his fifth foul, sending Kyle Kuzma to the line with 34.1 seconds left. Kuzma converted both for a 101-98 lead.
Butler then went on the attack, getting to the line with 26 seconds to play to close it within 101-100, before Kuzma got back to the line with 12.4 seconds left, making two of his own to make it 103-100.
The game effectively ended on a wayward Butler 3-point attempt.
— 2. Foul night: Adebayo was forced to the bench with his fifth foul with 9:24 left.
At that point, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra elected to go small, inserting P.J. Tucker rather than Dewayne Dedmon, who had struggled to that stage.
It was a foul-filled night for big men on both sides, with Kuzma at one point forced to play center for the Wizards after issues with Daniel Gafford and Montrezl Harrell.
— 3. Robinson out: Robinson headed the locker room during the third quarter and remained there the balance of the night, with what the Heat listed as a bruised right knee.
Saturday’s start extended his streak to 164 consecutive regular-season appearances, the second-longest streak in the franchise’s 34 seasons. The record is 174 by Glen Rice, from 1992 to ‘94.
Robinson closed 3 of 7 from the field, 1 of 7 on 3-pointers, with seven points and five rebounds in 19:30
— 4. Ugly on 3s: The Heat closed the first half 1 of 14 on 3-pointers, with the lone conversion from Herro.
Kyle Lowry was 0 for 4 from beyond the arc in the first half, with Strus 0 for 3 and Robinson 0 for 2.
Robinson then made the Heat’s first 3-point attempt of the second half, with the conversion extending his franchise record to 65 consecutive games with at least one.
The Heat closed 7 of 27 from beyond the arc.
— 5. Sixth sense: With the starting lineup whole and healthy for a second consecutive game, and with Herro back after missing Thursday’s victory over the Wizards with a wrist bruise, Herro was back to his sixth-man role.
Herro’s promptly converted his 3-pointer upon entering and kept going from there.
With Herro back, Gabe Vincent again was out of Spoelstra’s rotation, after scoring a season-high 18 points in Thursday’s victory.
Spoelstra rounded out his typical nine-deep rotation with Herro, Dedmon, Caleb Martin and Strus.
