Nene of the Washington Wizards grabs a rebound against the Miami Heat on Monday (US time). Photo: AFP

Trevor Ariza scored a game-high 25 points from 10-of-13 shooting as the Washington Wizards cruised past the defending champions Miami Heat 114-93 on Monday (US time).

Miami suffered their fourth loss in the last five contests which means they surrendered the Eastern Conference's top seed to the Indiana Pacers.

The Heat, who rested both reigning NBA MVP LeBron James and center Chris Bosh in their second to last game of the regular season, will be the No.2 seed when the postseason starts this weekend.

The Heat allowed the Wizards to shoot an impressive 59 percent from the field and go 14-of-29 from ­three-point range. Ariza drained five-of-eight three-point attempts and Al Harrington nailed four-of-six from beyond the arc in a 16-point performance off the bench.

Nene and Bradley Beal tallied 18 and 15 points respectively to Washington's third straight victory. Marcin Gortat posted 10 points and 13 boards in the win.

Michael Beasley paced the shorthanded Heat with 18 points and Toney Douglas scored 14 in the loss. Dwyane Wade, playing for the second time since returning from a nine-game absence caused by an injured hamstring, had just nine points in 18-plus minutes of playing time.

The Wizards cruised into halftime with a comfortable 70-48 lead as they shot a blistering 70.3 percent in the first half.

Washington carried that over into the third quarter, going ahead by as much as 36 points and taking a commanding 98-65 lead into the fourth.

Miami outscored Washington 28-16 in the final quarter to make the final score more respectable.

Also on Monday, the Memphis ­Grizzlies powered their way into the playoffs and eliminated Phoenix from contention with a 97-91 road victory over the Suns.

With both teams vying for the final spot in the Western Conference, Mike ­Conley delivered the go-ahead three-pointer with about a minute left to put Memphis ahead 93-91.

Zach Randolph had 32 points and nine rebounds for the Grizzlies, who won their fourth straight game to reach the postseason for the fourth season in a row.

Phoenix were fighting to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

The Grizzlies, tied with ­Dallas at 49-32, play the Mavericks in the season ­finale on Wednesday with the winners claiming the No.7 seed in the West.

Agencies - Global Times