The Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-107 on Monday. It was a very close game. They chased the point difference to 11 points in the last quarter. The Los Angeles Lakers had the final chance to win, but they came ·Reddish failed.
Jimmy Butler scores 28 points for Miami, but he’s in great company Tyler Herro scored 22 points and Adebayo had a triple-double of 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
“Former” LeBron James’ 30 points and Austin Reeves’ 23 points weren’t enough, even though they kept their franchise options open until their last breath. The bad news for the Lakers was that Anthony Davis was injured and did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers ended a very negative trip to Florida with two losses in Orlando and Miami.
There is one name that matters the most in the first quarter, and that is Bam Adebayo. No matter who his partner is, he knows how to defend effectively and even block. But his offense was also very comprehensive, scoring 9 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
The Heat center even drained a 3-pointer, and he showed no hesitation in taking the shot, making the ninth of his entire career, the last of which was nearly a year ago on November 30, 2022. .
Despite Adebayo’s dominance, it wasn’t reflected in the locals’ control of the game, but in the alternating scoreboards between the two teams. The Lakers had a good performance with 2 wins and 11 losses, their defense improved and their offense was more effective at times.
With less than 3 minutes left in this quarter, Jaime Jáquez hit a three-pointer after coming on the court, and the Miami Heat chased the score to 26-25. The two sides then ended in a draw: 33-33.
Miami took advantage in the second quarter, going on a 7-2 run led by its second unit players. Josh Richardson’s three-pointer, Duncan Robinson’s layup and Thomas Bryant’s dunk stunned the Lakers.
Miami controlled the scoreboard throughout but never took off. The Lakers felt comfortable within four or five points until Taurean Prince’s basket took the lead again (51-52) just over three minutes before halftime.
All players on both teams scored, but Reeves stood out in his own right, displaying great athleticism. His shot was the last one before halftime.
Miami led by five when LeBron hit a 3-pointer and missed, but Reeves came in from the outside, caught the ball in the air, and sank it to make it 62-59 before heading back to the locker room.
Despite Adebayo’s defensive performance, the Lakers abused their options near the rim, In the first 36 minutes, he scored as many as 50 points in the paint, 15 of which were scored in quick transitions, and the local defensive balance was unable to react.
Two of those came after two consecutive Miami turnovers, and the Lakers launched a counterattack that ended with LeBron James hanging on the rim to decorate himself. He received a standing ovation at the Kasea Center, partly from Los Angeles fans but also from local fans.
It was Butler’s moment. He scored 11 points at the end of the penultimate quarter. Miami chased the score to 12 points (87-75) with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
This devastating segment also coincided with the absence of LeBron James. Then the score dropped slightly, and the score in the final quarter was still 90-79.
After getting off to a good start on the court in the last quarter, the Lakers once again made serious mistakes on offense, giving away the ball that Miami could exploit, especially after the very reliable Jaime Jaquez scored two consecutive layups after running. . The Mexican ended up scoring nine points again, just like the game against Washington, which was by far the best scoring performance of his short NBA career.
The final minutes were a battle for the locals to finish and the visitors to re-engage, but without success. For the Heat, Butler and Hiero both showed their best form and were full of lethality. In the last quarter, the two scored 12 points in a row.
With the Lakers, LeBron took on the biggest load when Anthony Davis came in injured. James hit a two-and-one and the Californians narrowed the gap to one point (108-107).
With one minute left, the difference between the two was only one point. No one scored, and with 8.9 seconds left, LeBron passed a final shot to a wide-open Cam Reddish in the corner, but he missed and it ended 108-107.