WASHINGTON _ The Miami Heat positioned itself as one of the NBA's biggest surprises this season by avoiding games like the one it played Monday at Capital One Arenal. The Heat, which had lost just once to a sub-.500 team all season, suffered its most stunning losses of the season to end 2019 in Washington. The Washington Wizards, missing Bradley Beal and four other rotation players due to various injuries, blew out Miami, 123-105, on the backs of Jordan McRae, Garrison Mathews and Ian Mahinmi.
Those three, two of whom aren't even regular members of the Wizards' rotation, combined to nearly outscore the Heat in the first half and finished with 79 total points to spark the blowout win.
Mahinmi was the first driver for Washington's offense. The center, who hadn't scored more than 17 points in a single game since the Wizards signed him in 2016 and has fallen out of Washington's rotation., scored 14 in the first quarter alone and finished with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting.
In the second quarter, he turned it over to the guards. McRae, who spent last season on a two-way deal, went into halftime with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and finished with 26, and Mathews, whose career-high entering Monday was six points, unloaded for 22 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting with 20 of those points coming in the second quarter _ he finished with 28.
The trio had 61 total points at the break and the Wizards led 71-63 going into halftime.
Washington's lead ballooned as large as 18 before the Heat finally punched back. Miami made just one field goal in the first 8:28 of the second half before a barrage in the final four minutes of the quarter. The Heat scored 12 straight, capped with five in a row by Tyler Herro, to go into the fourth quarter down 90-81.
Miami never got any closer, though. The Heat finished at just 45.2% from the field, 35.7% from three-point range and 74.4% from the free throw line. Miami committed 18 turnovers and dished out just 18 assists. Jimmy Butler's 15 points at the free-throw line were more than all but one of his teammates scored total. It was the worst game the Heat played all season and it led to Miami's worst loss of the year.
