Even though the Washington Wizards put on a strong late run and Corey Kispert gave a huge effort, the Miami Heat were able to seal the victory in the end. Heat won 110, Wizards 102 in the end.
Friday night’s first half was all about Corey Kispert. There were about seven minutes left in the first quarter when he entered the game as the first substitute, along with Bilal Coulibaly. For Kispert after that, it was all lights and glitter. He was trying everything he could to open up space on the perimeter, including curling off screens and identifying defensive openings. In the first quarter, he made three of his four attempts from long range and continued to do so in the second.
Kispert collected the ball 28 feet away from the rim and confidently shot it with a few seconds left in the first half. After he banked it, he gave everyone the signature Michael Jordan shrug. You get to enjoy your night when it’s yours. He scored 15 points at the end of the first half on 5 of 9 long-range shots.
Regretfully, it was not the Wizards’ night from deep, at least not for Kispert. They did a great job creating looks that were worthy of their highest scorers, but it was just a chilly shooting game. They led Miami by all of the momentum after they scored 59 points in the first half and were only able to muster 15 points in the third quarter.
The Wizards made 11 of their 42 deep shots (26.2%) during the game. Nevertheless, interim head coach Brian Keefe praised the Wizards’ effort and process despite the fact that the shots weren’t falling.
Keefe remarked, “I thought we got some great looks.” “We simply lost a few easy opportunities. I have complete faith in our guys to make those. We like the process of such shots, so we’ll keep taking them. I have faith in my guys.
Despite his struggles from deep, Jordan Poole had a generally good effect on the game. He was consistently making the right move and setting himself and others up for success. He barely handed the ball over once while recording a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists.
“I liked how he got to the teeth of the defense,” stated Keefe. “I thought he played with aggression… Jordan has a view of the court. Jordan is capable of providing for us.”
Poole’s declining aggressiveness served as one of the driving forces for the Wizards’ late-game surge. With six minutes remaining in the game, Poole’s lead had grown to sixteen points, but with just 31 seconds remaining, the margin was shrunk to just four points. When it counted most, the Heat made their free throws, forcing the Wizards to play the foul game. A game of balls.
Another factor that almost allowed the Wizards to pull off a victory in the last seconds was Kispert. The Heat started to drive him off the 3-point line after he had been shooting lights out from beyond the arc in the first half, and he punished them with a variety of finishing plays near the rim. In the end, he finished the game with a game-high 26 points, going 4-for-4 from two.
Regarding his ability to play off the bounce, Kispert remarked, “It’s growth.” “Teams are starting to guard me a certain way, and it’s been a concerted effort of mine to take advantage of that and to grow my game to make me even tougher to guard.”
