MIAMI -- Bradley Beal knew in the wee hours of Monday morning, when his cell phone buzzed with a text message soon after the Washington Wizards' team flight arrived in town.

He knew John Wall was going to be defiant.

When Beal saw his teammate crumble to the floor in the final minute of Sunday's home loss to Dallas after he collided knees with a Mavericks player, Beal figured there was no chance Wall would be available to board a flight, let alone travel to play a game 24 hours later.

Then came that text message.

"When you look at an injury like that, it's like, 'Ugh,'" Beal said of Wall, who initially refused to look at MRI results Sunday night in Washington. "But he's a warrior. He's a soldier at the end of the day. I knew he would be back when we were texting. Knowing him, I knew he would be hardheaded and play."

A day after he was carried off the court, Wall returned the favor to lift his teammates with 10 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the shorthanded Wizards to a 114-103 win over the Miami Heat. Although Beal knew about Wall's intentions to play, the All-Star point guard's status was officially in question until starting lineups were submitted about 30 minutes before the game.

But even then, Wall later said he wasn't absolutely certain he wouldn't play until after he warmed up with the team and regained enough confidence in the knee in the pregame layup line. Sunday's MRI revealed no structural damage, but Wall was diagnosed with a bruised right knee.

John Wall had 26 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Wizards past the Heat. Issac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images

"I did a good job of getting a lot of treatment and just doing what I have to do to prepare myself," said Wall, who played 38 minutes, shot 9-of-13 from the field, had seven assists and didn't commit a turnover in the second half. "Getting up [Monday] morning, before the breakfast meeting, and getting treatment -- that's basically what I was on all day: treatment, treatment, treatment."

The Wizards (9-10) could hardly afford to be without Wall these days. Injuries and attrition have contributed to Washington owning one of the league's worst defenses this season. Seven of the Wizards' 10 losses have come by double figures and on Monday they were without centers Marcin Gortat (personal reasons), Nene Hilario (calf strain) and Drew Gooden (calf strain).

By equal parts necessity and strategy, Washington has shifted to a small-ball lineup that features as many as four guards and so-called center Jared Dudley, who is 6-foot-7. With Wall setting the pace, the Wizards shot 50 percent from the field overall and the same from 3-point range against a Heat team that ranked second in the league in defensive efficiency.

Basically, Wizards coach Randy Wittman dictated the personnel and pace of the game.

"They probably had us in more cross-matches, miscommunications, than we've had all season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Even before that, it just felt that they were [speeding] downhill most of the game and we couldn't flatten them out to get them to an uphill game."

And that was with Wall driving on a bad wheel and consistently setting up Beal and Gary Neal, who each added 21 points and were among six Wizards players to score in double figures. Washington attempted 92 shots and finished with 23 assists.

After the initial scare from seeing Wall go down the previous night, Wittman said he was quickly reminded of how tough his floor leader has been throughout his career. Last season, Wall played in the playoffs with five fractured bones in his left hand and wrist.

"He's one of the toughest guys I've coached," Wittman said. "It takes a lot for him to miss a game. As we said, last year in the playoffs, it took five broken bones before he would sit out a game."

"I'm probably one of the toughest people you'll see. I can't say unless it's broken I won't play, because I've done that before." John Wall

Wall insists there's an increased urgency with the Wizards, who entered the season among teams considered a legitimate threat to unseat Cleveland as defending Eastern Conference champions. His threshold for pain has always been high.

"It was kind of like an injury I had before, and I got hit on it again so it was numb," Wall said of his knee.

It would have been completely understood -- and probably recommended -- for Wall to either skip the trip or sit out the second night of a back-to-back set coming off a disappointing home loss.

So why push it?

"I'm probably one of the toughest people you'll see," said Wall, who has averaged 26.4 points, 9.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 steals the past six games. "I can't say unless it's broken I won't play, because I've done that before. We've been in a drought and we're so close to putting something together. When I step up and play well, this team is better and that's what I've been doing lately -- giving our team a chance to win."

Wall then walked out of the arena wearing a designer jacket styled with a cape on the back.

Not many players can execute that kind of fashion statement.

The only statement more impressive was the physical one Wall made in a span of 24 hours.