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A trio of 20-point performances from Ian Mahinmi, Jordan McRae and Garrison Mathews led the Wizards (10-22) to a 123-105 win over the Heat (24-9) Monday night at Capital One Arena. Mahinmi (25 points) and Mathews (28 points) each set career highs in scoring while McRae’s 29 points were a season high. McRae also registered a career-high eight assists, including six in the first half.
“A lot of guys [with] spectacular play,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said postgame. “Ian [Mahinmi] did a great job [on] both ends of the floor. Garrison [Matthews] coming in and playing aggressive and being confident. Guys are looking for him and got second good screens and he gets fouled on three threes…Then Jordan [McRae]. Jordan's a scorer who can come in and get buckets. I thought everybody chipped in.”
The Wizards became the first team in NBA history to have three teammates score 25-plus points who each entered the game averaging less than 11.0 points per game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Mahinmi (19), McRae (20) and Mathews (22) also became the first trio of teammates to each score 19-plus points in the first half since December 11, 2017 and are the first trio of Wizards to do so in the last 20 seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Their 61 combined points accounted for all but 10 of Washington’s first half points. As a team, the Wizards shot 61.9% from the field and 56.2% from 3-point range in the first half.
The Wizards bench combined for 80 points, setting a new franchise record. The previous high of 77 bench points was set on December 29, 1990 against the Nuggets. The Clippers are the only other team to score 80-plus bench points in a game this season.
“It's definitely the biggest win considering what has taken place,” Brooks said. “Going into the season, we lost a lot of guys, but our guys play hard. We know what we're up against. You don't win in this league by not playing hard, whether you have your full roster or you don't have your roster, you got to play hard, you got to give maximum effort.”
Bradley Beal missed his second consecutive game with lower right leg soreness. With Beal and a number of other rotation players out due to injury, Washington went with the same starting lineup as Saturday’s game against New York: Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton II, Troy Brown Jr., Johnathan Williams and Mahinmi.
The Wizards trailed by as many as 13 points late in the first quarter before unleashing a 31-14 run, capped off by a Mathews 3-pointer to take a four-point lead with just over four minutes left in the second quarter. Washington outscored Miami 42-24 in the second quarter and took an eight-point lead into the halftime break.
The teams’ shot making fell off dramatically in a third quarter that saw just 37 combined points and a 32.5% combined shooting percentage. Washington managed to extend their lead to 18 early in the third, but a 12-0 Heat run cut the lead to six with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Washington rediscovered their shooting touch in the fourth, hitting 10-20 (.500) from the field and 4-6 (.667) from 3-point range. Ish Smith led the way with 10 points in the fourth quarter while McRae tacked on another nine to his season-high total.
The Wizards continue their six-game homestand on Wednesday night, hosting the Orlando Magic (14-19) at 6:00 P.M. Orlando has won each of the teams’ two prior matchup this season. The Wizards and Magic will meet against for a fourth and final time next Wednesday, January 8 in Orlando.