NBA: Washington Wizards at Miami Heat
The Miami Heat used a 31-23 1st quarter and a 27-16 4th quarter to beat the Wizards, which was limited to 40.4% FG shooting for the game Reuters

The Brooklyn Nets confirmed their status as one of the rising teams in the stretch run of the regular season after beating the Miami Heat on the road, 96-95 last Wednesday. They are now 3-0 against the two-time defending champions this season. On Saturday, they’ll face the Washington Wizards, which are 2-0 against Brooklyn this year.

Paul Pierce was his vintage self against the Heat finishing with a game-high 29 points missing just 3 of 12 attempts and going 5-of-7 from behind the arc to lead the Nets to its third consecutive win. Brooklyn also won against the Toronto Raptors, 101-97 and the Sacramento Kings, 104-89 before the big upset victory at Miami.

The Wizards are coming off a win over the Orlando Magic, 105-101 in overtime. Washington struggled all game but did enough in the fourth quarter and overtime especially John Wall who scored 12 of his 21 points in that stretch.

Five players finished in double-figure scoring including Trevor Ariza (21 points with 11 rebounds); Marcin Gortat (19 points with 14 rebounds) and Trevor Booker (11 points and 11 rebounds).

After a six straight wins in the latter part of February, the Washington is just 3-3 in the first two weeks of March. The Wizards (34-31) are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings just a game behind Brooklyn (33-30) in fifth place.

The Wizards own the Nets this year winning 112-108 (OT) at home on November 8 and then 113-107 at Brooklyn on December 18. They have been even more successful against the spread going 7-1 ATS in the last 8 match-ups with the Nets.

Watch the Nets-Wizards match-up via NBA League Pass.

Betting Against the Spread (ATS)

Brooklyn Nets Trends
 - The Nets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games
- The Nets are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Southeast division teams
- The Nets are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after a win
- The Nets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. East teams
- The Nets are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games vs. the Wizards

Washington Wizards Trends
 - The Wizards are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games
- The Wizards are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. the Nets in Washington
- The Wizards are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games at home
- The Wizards are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. East teams
- The Wizards are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on second day of a back-to-back