NBA: Olynyk's late bucket lifts Heat past Wizards

Kelly Olynyk followed up Dwyane Wade's miss with 0.2 seconds remaining, and the visiting Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 113-112 on Thursday night.

Wade's 22-footer over John Wall bounced high into the air and Olynyk (nine points) went up in a crowd, came down with the rebound and laid it in.

John Wall's inbounds pass was deflected as time expired, and the Heat prevailed in a game that featured 21 lead changes.

Josh Richardson led Miami, which lost its opener Wednesday night, with 28 points. Rodney McGruder added 20.

Wall led the Wizards with 26 points and nine assists in their opener and Bradley Beal scored 20 despite being limited by foul trouble.

The Wizards were without new center Dwight Howard, who missed the opener due to a lower back injury.

Beal converted an alley-oop pass from Wall to give the Wizards a 110-108 lead with 2:23 remaining

After Richardson made one of two free throws, Wade's layup gave Miami a 111-110 lead. But Wall sank two free throws with 56 seconds left to put Washington up by one.

Miami was guilty of a shot-clock violation, but Wall missed a 3-pointer from the wing. Miami got the ball and called timeout with 6.6 seconds remaining.

Washington shot 46.9 percent to 39.2 for the Heat, but Miami had 15 more rebounds and 27 second-chance points.

Goran Dragic led a 14-4 Heat third-quarter run that put Miami ahead 74-66. The Wizards responded with a 10-0 run of their own capped by a Beal 3-pointer that gave Washington the lead.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Howard missed all of training camp and the team's exhibition games, but recently returned to practice.

"He's close but we don't feel like he is quite there yet," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters before the game.

Ian Mahinmi replaced Howard in the starting lineup and scored three points.

Miami was without James Johnson (sports hernia), Dion Waiters (left ankle), Wayne Ellington (left ankle), and Justise Winslow (right hamstring).

source: nKelly Olynyk followed up Dwyane Wade's miss with 0.2 seconds remaining, and the visiting Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 113-112 on Thursday night.

Wade's 22-footer over John Wall bounced high into the air and Olynyk (nine points) went up in a crowd, came down with the rebound and laid it in.

John Wall's inbounds pass was deflected as time expired, and the Heat prevailed in a game that featured 21 lead changes.

Josh Richardson led Miami, which lost its opener Wednesday night, with 28 points. Rodney McGruder added 20.

Wall led the Wizards with 26 points and nine assists in their opener and Bradley Beal scored 20 despite being limited by foul trouble.

The Wizards were without new center Dwight Howard, who missed the opener due to a lower back injury.

Beal converted an alley-oop pass from Wall to give the Wizards a 110-108 lead with 2:23 remaining

After Richardson made one of two free throws, Wade's layup gave Miami a 111-110 lead. But Wall sank two free throws with 56 seconds left to put Washington up by one.

Miami was guilty of a shot-clock violation, but Wall missed a 3-pointer from the wing. Miami got the ball and called timeout with 6.6 seconds remaining.

Washington shot 46.9 percent to 39.2 for the Heat, but Miami had 15 more rebounds and 27 second-chance points.

Goran Dragic led a 14-4 Heat third-quarter run that put Miami ahead 74-66. The Wizards responded with a 10-0 run of their own capped by a Beal 3-pointer that gave Washington the lead.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Howard missed all of training camp and the team's exhibition games, but recently returned to practice.

"He's close but we don't feel like he is quite there yet," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters before the game.

Ian Mahinmi replaced Howard in the starting lineup and scored three points.

Miami was without James Johnson (sports hernia), Dion Waiters (left ankle), Wayne Ellington (left ankle), and Justise Winslow (right hamstring).

source: nKelly Olynyk followed up Dwyane Wade's miss with 0.2 seconds remaining, and the visiting Miami Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 113-112 on Thursday night.

Wade's 22-footer over John Wall bounced high into the air and Olynyk (nine points) went up in a crowd, came down with the rebound and laid it in.

John Wall's inbounds pass was deflected as time expired, and the Heat prevailed in a game that featured 21 lead changes.

Josh Richardson led Miami, which lost its opener Wednesday night, with 28 points. Rodney McGruder added 20.

Wall led the Wizards with 26 points and nine assists in their opener and Bradley Beal scored 20 despite being limited by foul trouble.

The Wizards were without new center Dwight Howard, who missed the opener due to a lower back injury.

Beal converted an alley-oop pass from Wall to give the Wizards a 110-108 lead with 2:23 remaining

After Richardson made one of two free throws, Wade's layup gave Miami a 111-110 lead. But Wall sank two free throws with 56 seconds left to put Washington up by one.

Miami was guilty of a shot-clock violation, but Wall missed a 3-pointer from the wing. Miami got the ball and called timeout with 6.6 seconds remaining.

Washington shot 46.9 percent to 39.2 for the Heat, but Miami had 15 more rebounds and 27 second-chance points.

Goran Dragic led a 14-4 Heat third-quarter run that put Miami ahead 74-66. The Wizards responded with a 10-0 run of their own capped by a Beal 3-pointer that gave Washington the lead.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Howard missed all of training camp and the team's exhibition games, but recently returned to practice.

"He's close but we don't feel like he is quite there yet," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters before the game.

Ian Mahinmi replaced Howard in the starting lineup and scored three points.

Miami was without James Johnson (sports hernia), Dion Waiters (left ankle), Wayne Ellington (left ankle), and Justise Winslow (right hamstring).

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Heat push Pistons farther down East standings

Josh Richardson and Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points each as the Miami Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons 105-96 on Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.

Heat center Hassan Whiteside added eight points and 19 rebounds.

The Heat are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, which represents the final playoff position in the East. The Pistons are in ninth place, four games behind Miami.

Detroit forward Blake Griffin scored a game-high 31 points and added a team-best six assists, but it wasn't enough as the Pistons lost their eighth consecutive road game. The Pistons are 2-8 in their past 10 games overall.

Pistons center Andre Drummond, who leads the NBA in rebounds, scored 22 points and grabbed 18 boards.

The Heat played their second straight game without starting shooting guard Tyler Johnson and his primary backup, Wayne Ellington -- both of them out with leg injuries.

In addition, Heat backup center Bam Adebayo missed the game due to unspecified personal reasons.

Forward Luke Babbitt, who had nine points, made his first start since the Heat reacquired him from the Atlanta Hawks just before the trading deadline. He earned the start when the Heat decided to bring Justise Winslow (13 points) in off the bench.

The Pistons played without starting point guard Reggie Jackson, who is out due to a sprained right ankle.

Detroit made six of its first seven shots, taking a 14-5 lead. Whiteside, trying to get Drummond off the boards, picked up two fouls in three minutes and sat out the rest of the first quarter. Still, Miami battled back and trailed 28-27 after the first.

The Heat had a strong second quarter, taking a 59-46 lead into halftime. The Pistons dominated inside with a 22-14 edge in the paint and a 10-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. But the Heat shot 52.4 percent from the floor compared to 39.6 percent for Detroit.

Using a 9-0 run, Detroit cut its third-quarter deficit to 74-70. Both teams were shooting below 45 percent through three quarters, although the Heat had converted 10 3-pointers to just six for Detroit.

Miami controlled the fourth quarter and finished the game shooting 45.1 percent from the floor. Detroit shot 41.6 percent and lost despite a 42-30 advantage in paint points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Olynyk shines as Celtics down Wizards to set up Cavs

NEW YORK -- Kelly Olynyk scored 26 points from the bench as the Boston Celtics outmuscled the Washington Wizards, 115-105, to clinch their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Monday.

Olynyk produced a superb display of shooting from distance as Boston pulled clear of the Wizards in the late stages of the game to take the series 4-3 and set up a Conference final clash with Cleveland.

Isaiah Thomas topscored for the Celtics with 29 points and weighed in with 12 assists while Al Horford (15), Jae Crowder (14) and Marcus Smart (13) also made double figures.

But it was Olynyk's remarkable display off the bench that proved decisive as the Celtics clinched their first Eastern Conference finals berth since 2012.

"A friend called me and said 'Be at your best when your best is needed' and my best was needed tonight," Olynyk said after the win.

"Everybody gave it their best and it turned out for us tonight," added the 26-year-old Canadian power forward.

Olynyk described the series win as a "a team effort."

"It was hard work, that was a tough seven-game series. Both teams played tough -- we just kind of outlasted them at the end there. We're lucky to move on," Olynyk said.

Boston now hosts NBA champions Cleveland on Wednesday. "We've just gotta keep playing our brand of basketball and we'll see what happens," Olynyk said.

The defeat marked another frustrating end for Washington, however.

Bradley Beal exploded for 38 points but it was not enough to overcome the Celtics rugged defense. Otto Porter Jr added 20 points while John Wall and Markieff Morris scored 18 each.

No other Washington player made double figures, highlighting the team's threadbare relative lack of options off the bench. Wall, meanwhile, made only one of eight attempted three-pointers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com