It has been less than four months since the Miami Heat was playing in the 2020 NBA Finals. Barely more than 100 days have passed since Jimmy Butler was going toe to toe with LeBron James -- and often besting the superstar -- with a championship on the line.
A new season is now more than a quarter of the way done and the Heat is a shell of the team that tore through the 2020 NBA Bubble in Lake Buenva Vista. Miami hit a new low point Wednesday with a 103-100 loss to the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena.
For the second straight game, the Heat (7-14) had control deep into the second half only to let it slip away. For the second game, Miami jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and led for the vast majority of the second half, and still managed to lose at home to one of the worst teams in the NBA.
On Monday, the Heat blew a 10-point lead in the final three minutes before falling in overtime to the Charlotte Hornets. On Wednesday, Miami’s 13-point second-half lead was gone by the end of the third quarter and the Wizards, playing without Russell Westbrook, delivered the Heat another devastating loss in Miami.
Bradley Beal, who has long been linked to the Heat in trade rumors purporting the All-Star wing would like to wind up with a contender, shredded the Heat for 32 points and sent Miami tumbling a little bit closer to the cellar in the Eastern Conference. More than a quarter of the way through the season, the Heat is 2 1/2 games out of eighth place and just two games ahead of the league-worst Detroit Pistons.
The Heat has now lost 10 of its last 13, including 2 of 3 since All-Star forward Jimmy Butler returned after missing nearly three weeks because of the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Miami spent most of the first half trading blows the Wizards (5-13) before finally creating separation in the final minutes. The Heat closed the half on a 16-5 run, powered by 11 points in the final 3:25 by Tyler Herro. The combo guard went 4 of 4 from the field and 3 of 3 from three-point range to help turn 50-49 deficit into a 65-55 halftime lead. After he added a three-pointer to open the second half, Miami took its largest lead to 68-55.
By the end of the third quarter, Washington had rallied back. With 8:02 left in the third, Miami led 71-61. The Heat didn’t score again until the 4:34 mark and the Wizards staged an extended 16-5 run to take a 77-76 lead with two minutes left on a baseline fadeaway by Beal.
After scoring 34 points in the first quarter and 31 in the second, Miami managed just 17 in the third and 18 in the fourth. The Heat has been critical of its own defensive effort throughout the first half of the season, but its offense failed against Washington.
Herro, who led Miami with 20 points, didn’t score after his three to open the second half. Butler only made five field goals. All-Star post player Bam Adebayo only scored 17 points and guard Goran Dragic only had 10. After it tied the game at 98-98 with 3:19 left, the Heat went 1 of 8 to finish the game and Herro missed an off-balance three at the buzzer to send Miami to another inexplicable loss.
