Jakucionis hits 6 3-pointers without a miss in Heat's 132-101 romp over Wizards

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kasparas Jakucionis was 6 for 6 from 3-point range and scored 22 points, Bam Adebayo also had 22 and the Miami Heat routed the Washington Wizards 132-101 on Sunday.

Norman Powell added 21 points for Miami, and Kel'el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Heat snapped a two-game losing streak and added to their team record with a 14th 130-plus point effort of the season.

Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 rebounds as eighth-place Miami closed within a half-game of seventh-place Orlando in the Eastern Conference.

Tristan Vukcevic had 14 points to lead Washington. The Wizards lost back-to-back games for the first time since a nine-game slide from Jan. 7-24.

Alex Sarr added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who saw both Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly depart early with injuries.

The Heat turned an early nine-point deficit into a 74-52 lead by halftime. They outrebounded the Wizards 36-22 in the half.

Miami forced 10 third-quarter turnovers to extend its lead to 107-75.

Heat: Host Utah on Monday night.

Wizards: At Cleveland on Wednesday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic yells at the official claiming he was fouled during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr, attempts to escape the defense of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, left, and Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic (00) races to the basket against Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) competes for a rebound against Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government on Sunday released from prison several prominent opposition members, including one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, after lengthy politically motivated detentions.

Their releases come as the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez faces mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political beliefs. They also follow a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“Today, we are being released,” Juan Pablo Guanipa, a Machado ally and former governor, said in a video posted on X. “Much to discuss about the present and future of Venezuela, always with the truth at the forefront.”

Guanipa, who spent more than eight months in custody, was released from a detention facility in the capital, Caracas. An armored vehicle and officers appeared behind him in the video he released.

Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people on Sunday.

In addition to Guanipa, Machado’s political organization said several of its members were among the released, including Maria Oropeza, who livestreamed her arrest by military intelligence officers as they broke into her home with a crowbar. Machado's attorney, Perkins Rocha, was also freed.

“Let’s go for the freedom of Venezuela!” Machado posted on X.

Guanipa was detained in late May and accused by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello of participating in an alleged “terrorist group” plotting to boycott that month's legislative election. Guanipa's brother Tomás rejected the accusation, and said that the arrest was meant to crack down on dissent.

“Thinking differently cannot be criminalized in Venezuela, and today, Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prisoner of conscience of this regime,” Tomás Guanipa said after the arrest. “He has the right to think as he thinks, the right to defend his ideas, and the right to be treated under a constitution that is not being enforced today.”

Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela's acting president after the capture in Caracas of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. military last month.

Her government announced on Jan. 8 it would free a significant number of prisoners — a central demand of the country’s opposition and human rights organizations with backing from the United States — but families and rights watchdogs have criticized authorities for the slow pace of the releases.

The ruling party-controlled National Assembly this week began debating an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners. The opposition and nongovernmental organizations have reacted with cautious optimism as well as with suggestions and demands for more information on the contents of the proposal.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on Friday posted a video on Instagram showing him outside a detention center in Caracas and saying that “everyone” would be released no later than next week, once the amnesty bill is approved.

Delcy Rodríguez and Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke by phone in late January. His spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, in a statement said he “offered our support to help Venezuela work on a roadmap for dialogue and reconciliation in which human rights should be at the centre" and then “deployed a team” to the South American country.

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

FILE - Opposition lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa displays a sign that reads in Spanish "More than a million residents of Zulia State eat only once a day" during an intervention against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at National Assembly, in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)