The Miami Heat hope for a fresh start with a new court and new clothes.

Jimmy Butler added 20 points, and the Heat defeated the Washington Wizards 121-114 on Friday night to end a four-game losing streak. Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was one assist away from a triple-double.

Herro led Miami with 10 rebounds and 9 assists in the game. For the Heat, who shot 60%, Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson each scored 18 points.

Herro declared, “We’ve got a long way to go.”

For both sides, it was their first-ever In-Season Tournament match. The Heat and Wizards, along with Milwaukee, New York, and Charlotte, are in East Group B. The Heat won on their recently painted red floor and “Heat Culture” jerseys. In the other East B game on Friday night, the Bucks defeated the Knicks 110-105.

The Wizards’ next tournament matchup is against Charlotte on November 10 at home, while Miami’s next matchup is on November 14 at Charlotte.

For Washington, Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points, while Jordan Poole and Deni Avdija contributed 19 and 14, respectively.

Kuzma stated, “I think we definitely need to play better and a little bit harder.” “I believe that we all need to improve.”

In a statistically insane first quarter, the Wizards missed their first shot but hit their next ten.

The Wizards had their best first quarter since December 16, 2019, when they shot 76.5%, and the Heat had allowed the highest percentage in the first quarter since an NBA Finals game against San Antonio on June 10, 2014, which is 814 games ago, including playoffs. Washington also had the best shooting percentage in the NBA this season.

The majority of the Wizards’ early run was against Miami’s fifth starting lineup in the previous five games. It was only the third occasion in Heat history that they have used five different lineups in the first six games of the season; the lineups changed in all six games in 2020–21 and 1994–95. Despite the availability of Kevin Love, who did not play, Haywood Highsmith began at power forward.

“Kevin offers a lot of energy, a strong sense of connection, and leadership qualities,” expressed Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who felt deeply regretful about not playing Love. “For now, this is just a move.”

However, despite all those early Wizards baskets, Washington was still tied at the end of the first quarter (34–34), and Miami subsequently established a 10-point lead before settling for a 60–54 advantage at the half.

The Heat then took over in the third quarter, outscoring Washington 41-27 to lead by 101 points going into the fourth. In the fourth quarter, the Heat had a 25-point lead until Washington, who was primarily playing with substitutes, went on a 15-0 run to close the gap to 115-105.

This season, the Wizards have given up at least 31 points in each of their five third-quarter losses.

Wes Unseld Jr., the coach of the Wizards, remarked, “We allow teams all those big runs in the third.” “We need to work that out. Give them credit; in the third quarter, they were well prepared.

The Wizards shot 57%, yet they still lost.

Butler remarked, “The offense, definitely good tonight.” “Less defense, please.”