The Los Angeles Lakers’ road trip got off to a rough start when they were blown out by the Orlando Magic, so they were trying to turn things around against the Miami Heat.
Los Angeles made a late push, but fell short, losing to Miami 108-107.
The Lakers’ outside shooting started hot, with consecutive three-pointers from Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell. The Los Angeles defense tightened up after some early issues caused by Bam Adebayo, and the team eventually won, 19-14.
LeBron James seemed comfortable offensively returning in Miami as he sought his shots, though the Heat stayed right on their hip. Anthony Davis got going with a few layups, but the score was knotted at 33 after the first quarter.
In the opening minutes of the second, the Heat bench took the initiative by going on a 7-2 run to give their team a 40-35 advantage. The Lakers tried to get back into the game by driving to the basket, and they were successful in doing so, tying the score at 47.
Despite suffering a knee injury, Taurean Prince performed well on both ends and even scored a three-pointer to put Los Angeles back on front. The Lakers were leading 62-59 with a few minutes left in the second quarter, but the Heat rallied to take the lead.
Davis left the field before the end of the half, presumably with an injury. Davis, who reportedly experienced a hip/groin spasm, came back to start the third quarter.
Even though Prince scored two quick baskets to start the second half, the Lakers were forced to take a break after Davis, who had been having mobility issues, was replaced by Christian Wood. In addition to Davis’s miraculous comeback after a second trip to the locker room, James pumped up the fans with some classic dunks.
The Lakers’ troubles accelerated as the Heat’s offense clicked, keying a 10-0 run. The situation worsened when it became obvious that Davis would not play, and Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter behind 90-79.
A three-pointer by Reaves and another thunderous dunk by James brought the margin to six points. However, Miami replied with a brief run and Los Angeles saw D’Angelo Russell be ejected after disagreeing with the officials.
Midway in the fourth, the purple and gold staged a comeback to pull within two possessions. Even though James grabbed control of the game down the stretch, the Lakers were unable to pull off the comeback and ended up losing by one point after Cam Reddish missed a game-winning three-pointer from the corner.
