The Miami Heat defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 104-92, at FTX Arena on Wednesday night.

The short-handed Trail Blazers (18-26) came into the contest as heavy underdogs, but they had a hot hand early and held a 26-23 lead after one quarter. However, the Heat (29-16) fought back to eliminate its deficit and take a two-point advantage into halftime, despite losing Jimmy Butler to an ejection for a double technical late in the second quarter. Nevertheless, Portland was resilient coming out of intermission, regaining a two-point edge heading into final period. Then, Miami's subsequent 15-4 run between the 9:53 and 3:48 marks of the fourth quarter put the home squad back in control for good, leading to the double-digit win.

Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers with 27 points, adding seven assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block. CJ McCollum provided 24 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Jusuf Nurkic generated an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double that included two assists, one steal and one block. Robert Covington totaled 11 points, 12 rebounds and one block.

Caleb Martin paced the Heat with 26 points, supplementing them with eight assists and two assists. Bam Adebayo posted a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double that included four assists, five steals and three blocks. Max Strus furnished 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. Dewayne Dedmon totaled 12 points, eight boards, one assist and one steal. Gabe Vincent managed 11 points, seven assists, two rebounds, three steals and one block.

The Trail Blazers remain on the road and visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night, while the Heat head to Atlanta to tangle with the Hawks on Friday night as well.