Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic insists his knee is not to blame for the poor shooting night he experienced against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Dragic, who missed the previous two games with a swollen right knee, went scoreless in the disappointing 116-110 loss, shooting 0 for 7 as the Heat struggled to cope with the night's opponents.

The player, though, has refused to blame his injury for his abysmal performance, claiming he simply had an off night.

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via azcentral.com

"It was nothing," he said, via the SunSentinel. "I just missed shots. It was just an off night. I mean, all of those shots I took were good shots. I watched on tape. A couple of them just rimmed out. The ball just didn't want to go in."

The point guard added that he was more frustrated with the team's inability to get stops towards the end of the game than his lack of shooting, urging his teammates to renew their focus on the defensive end.

"It's not about an offensive night," he continued. "It's all about defense. So you can have a bad game, shooting game, but we need to show up on defense."

Dragic has been playing on a day-to-day basis for the Heat over the past few games. But head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed that the player's limited minutes on Saturday was more down to precaution.

"I didn't even ask," he said after being asked if Dragic could have played longer. "I figure we had some minutes. I want to make sure we are progressing forward."

via heatzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com

Wayne Ellington has just returned from an injury spell himself and the guard has admitted that the Heat are beyond the point of using injuries as an excuse for their performances.

"I think we have enough guys to where we should be playing a little better," he remarked. "But we can't really do anything about it now. We just have to pull it together.

"We have been here before. We don't have guys in this locker room that are going to give up in any way, shape or form. We are going to fight and put the work in until we figure it out and we get better."

The Heat will play the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Monday night and, given their recent form, things aren't looking all that great.

"We know that we have to protect the home court," Ellington added. "I am confident we will be better, especially here at home. I know this group and the character of this group. I know how we are built."

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