Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen (34) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) defends during the second half at American Airlines Arena, in Miami, USA on Nov 3, 2013.[Photo/Agencies]

Mario Chalmers had eight assists for the Heat.

"This is how we've got to play," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Nobody wants to lose but I thought we took a good step in the right direction."

Before the game, Spoelstra said the early struggles this season were simply a matter of Miami not clicking at times. That wasn't an issue Sunday.

James got it going early for Miami, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and connecting on all three of his 3-point tries in that period. All five Miami starters got into the scoring act early, and the bench added 12 points in the second quarter as the Heat extended the lead.

About all the Heat could really complain about in this one was the opening minutes, in which they found themselves in a 9-2 deficit, continuing a trend of falling behind early. Miami trailed 9-2 against Chicago at home in the season-opener, then 19-0 (and 26-4) at Philadelphia, then 11-3 at Brooklyn.

Sunday's deficit didn't last long.

A 14-2 run over a 5-minute stretch of the opening quarter put the Heat up by five and the margin grew throughout, starting with 33-27 after 12 minutes, 61-48 at halftime and 87-64 entering the final period.