Washington @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 23, 2019 ) Miami 113, Washington 108

The Miami Heat are one of three teams remaining in the NBA with a perfect home record and they'll try to carry that trend through a four-game homestand that begins Friday against the visiting Washington Wizards. The Heat are 8-0 at AmericanAirlines Arena, although they'll have played only two games there over a 15-day span entering Friday.

Miami won the first two legs of a challenging road trip before it was cut down 112-93 at Boston on Wednesday while head coach Erik Spoelstra was home to be with his wife for the birth of their second son. Assistant coach Dan Craig filled in for Spoelstra and saw his team get outscored by 27 points over the final three quarters. "We didn't play together on either end -- defense, offense," star swingman Jimmy Butler told reporters. "That's not how we've been winning games. That's one that we really wanted to win. I felt like we could have proved to ourselves how we're a good basketball team. I feel like we took a step back. Back to the drawing board." The Wizards ended a three-game losing streak with a 119-113 win over Philadelphia at home Thursday night as they got three players to the 25-point mark and forced a season high-tying 21 turnovers.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, FS Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (7-13): Washington survived a rough shooting night for star guard Bradley Beal in Thursday's win, as he was 7-of-24 from the floor but made 11 free throws en route to 26 points. Rui Hachimura was on the mark with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting while Davis Bertans came off the bench for 25 points while making 7-of-13 3-pointers. Hachimura is averaging 24 points on 56.6 percent shooting in December while Bertans has posted an average of 22 points on 54.8 percent in the same stretch.

ABOUT THE HEAT (15-6): Butler scored a season-high 37 points on 12-of-18 shooting in the loss to the Celtics after posting a triple-double one night earlier in an overtime win at Toronto. His fellow starters combined for just 29 points on 12-of-33 from the field as Miami was held under 100 points for the fourth time this season. The Heat shoot an impressive 51.4 percent from the floor at home, compared to 45.1 percent on the road.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Heat SG Kendrick Nunn is shooting 26.2 percent from the floor in December while making 3-of-23 3-point tries.

2. With Wizards PG Isaiah Thomas sidelined with a calf injury Thursday, PG Ish Smith made his first start in over a month Thursday and responded with 19 points and a season-high eight assists.

3. Miami took three of four matchups in 2018-19 and it has won 10 of the last 13 against Washington.

PREDICTION: Heat 120, Wizards 109