The Wizards, who add 11 wins and 5 losses, ousted the Heat (11-6) from second place in the conference thanks to a final acceleration in which they raised 10 points behind in the last four minutes.
Gritting his teeth on defense, point guard Spencer Dinwiddie nailed two 3s and a two-pointer in an 11-0 run as the Wizards took the lead for the win.
Dinwiddie, with 16 points and 4 assists, and guard Bradley Beal, with 21 and 9, led a great choral performance by the Washington in front of their audience at Capital One Arena.
For Miami, guard Jimmy Butler reached 29 points and backup guard Tyler Herro reached 20.
In his turn, Giannis Antetokounmpo had one of the best performances of the year in the league in the 117-108 victory of the Milwaukee Bucks against the Orlando Magic.
The Greek added 32 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks and only lowered the piston from the free throw line (15/23).
The Magic substitutes sought the comeback in the fourth quarter with a 37-21 run but Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton (13 points) returned to the court in the final minutes to seal the third straight win for the reigning champions.
Wolves crush Grizzlies
In Minnesota, the Timberwolves crushed the Memphis Grizzlies 138-95 on a dominant night of their young trio of stars, Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, who combined for 72 points.
From the first 40-32 quarter, the superiority of the Timberwolves was so clear that neither Russell (28 points), Edwards (23) and Towns (21) were on track for more than 27 minutes.
Minnesota is ranked 10th in the West, which gives access to play the playoff repechage, while the Grizzlies of a weak Ja Morant (11 points) fall to eighth.
In Boston, Jayson Tatum added his third straight game over 30 points as the Celtics defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-105.
A day after crushing the Los Angeles Lakers by 22 points, the Celtics came close to being surprised in the fourth quarter by the young Thunder but Tatum closed the game with two final free throws.
The forward maintained his offensive streak with 33 points, 6 triples and 8 rebounds while German point guard Dennis Schröder reached 29 points and 6 assists.
Despite not having the injured Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have recovered from a disastrous start to the season and have for the first time a positive balance (9-8) in ninth place in the East.
Rockets don’t lift their heads in NY
In New York, the Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets 106-99, who remain sunk in the West with 1 win and 15 losses.
The Texan team, which last season began a rebuilding process by selling James Harden, has not known victory since the second league game, on October 22.
The center Christian Wood had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the rookie Jalen Green another 16 points but the Rockets’ problems from the three-throw line (25.6%) and free (59.1%) condemned them at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks came back from their loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, driven by a great fourth quarter from backup guard Alec Burks, who scored 3 of his 20 points in that period.
“I was just trying to make winning plays and it just happened like that. The shots came in, ”said Burks, who also shone on defense with 5 steals.
Power forward Julius Randle stroked the triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists and center Mitchell Robinson (6 points) retired due to a blow to the nose.
Results of Saturday’s day in the NBA:
New York Knicks 106-99 Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers 111-94 New Orleans Pelicans
Washington Wizards – Miami Heat 103-100
Atlanta Hawks 115-105 Charlotte Hornets
Boston Celtics – Oklahoma City Thunder 111-105
Milwaukee Bucks – Orlando Magic 117-108
Minnesota Timberwolves 138-95 Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers 118-111 Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings – Utah Jazz 105-123.
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Wizards frustrate Heat on top of East; Giannis colossal against Magic – Basketball – ABC Color