The Washington Wizards took full advantage of a weak Miami Heat line-up to finally stop their 16-game losing streak against the their Southeast Division rivals, registering a 106-95 victory.

Heat, without Dwyane Wade, Jason Williams and Shaquille O'Neal, were completely blown apart in the first quarter, going behind the Wizards by 25 points, a deficit, which they did not recover from till the end of the game.

Caron Butler was the top scorer for the Wizards, scoring season-high 30 points while Gilbert Arenas continued his great form with 27 points, three short of scoring 30 or more in five consecutive games. Antawn Jamison chipped in with 22 points and had a career-high five blocked shots for his team.

The Wizards blazed through the first quarter taking a 40-17 lead with a 76 percent conversion rate against a Heat side that was still smarting from the Phoenix game. As the game progressed, Heat fought back hard to reduce the deficit to just 3 points in the third quarter but could not maintain the performance to finish off the game.

Heat’s performance was praised by the Wizards coach Eddie Jordan who said, "They had a depleted team. But not depleted on effort." Beating his former team was a highlight of the season for Craig Butler, who was traded from Heat in 2004 in a deal that had brought O'Neal to Miami in 2004. "Ever since I have been traded, I have not beaten them. It felt really good to get that monkey off my back", he said.

Heat coach Pat Riley is desperate for his injured players to return, saying that losing so badly two games in a row speaks for itself. "We dug a hole the other night against Phoenix, and tonight was just ungodly. To get blown right off the face of the earth two games in a row, obviously that lineup doesn't work. We just have to keep trying to pick our spots and players and hope that when Dwyane gets back we can have a little more control", he said.