On January 16th, Beijing time, the NBA 2024-25 season regular season welcomes a focus battle between the East and West, with the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Miami Heat. This is the second matchup between the two teams this season. In the previous encounter, the Heat defeated the Lakers by a huge margin of 41 points, which was also the worst defeat for the Lakers so far. Obviously, the Lakers have had a strange circle this season. After playing a few good games, they started to refresh their lower limits, suffering unexpected defeats one after another. In recent games, they not only lost to the Mavericks without Doncic but were also beaten by the Spurs in a single quarter, making their defense seem to disappear in an instant, causing sighs.
As a result, the Lakers currently have a record of only 20 wins and 17 losses, suffering a three-game losing streak and falling to seventh place in the Western Conference. It should be noted that in the previous two years, the Lakers lost by more than 20 points in a total of six regular-season games, but this season, they have already lost seven times, which is indeed a bit of a letdown. In response to this, James said in an interview with the media, "I think we should bring defensive intensity to our opponents, making it difficult for them to score; on the offensive end, we should share the ball more. When we have 20 or 30 assists and keep our turnovers low, we are hard to beat!"
Before the game, American media ESPN also gave the win rate prediction for today's game: the Lakers' win rate is 52.9%, while the Heat's win rate is only 47.1%. Obviously, American media is more optimistic about the Lakers winning this revenge game. In terms of starting lineups, the Lakers' side has Hood-Hifino (left groin soreness), Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), and Wood (left knee surgery recovery) absent from the game. Finney-Smith is likely not to play either, but James and Davis are expected to play. Redick's latest starting five are James, Davis, Hachimura, Christie, and Reeves; On the Heat's side, Butler is suspended, Drew Smith and Richardson are absent, and the starting lineup is Rozier, Herro, Adebayo, Hayesmith, and Harkless.
In the first quarter, Davis scored with a strong attack under the counterattack basket, giving the Lakers the lead. James made a pass error and was intercepted, while Herro hit another three-pointer, already 3 of 3 from beyond the arc for 13 points, allowing the Heat to take the lead. James turned around to complete a steal and made a wonderful pass to assist Hachimura with a two-handed dunk. Christie defended against Harkless and blocked him under the basket, allowing the Lakers to overtake the Heat by 2 points again. Herro hit another long-range three-pointer, now 4 of 4 from three-point range for 16 points, and Kailair-Weir also scored on a fast break layup, ending the first quarter with the Heat leading the Lakers 38-34 by 4 points.
In the second quarter, Weir scored with an alley-oop dunk, giving the Heat an 8-point lead and forcing a timeout from the Lakers. After the timeout, the Lakers' offense still did not improve, and Weir easily scored again against Hachimura under the basket, already with 8 points and 8 rebounds, as the Heat extended their lead to 12 points with a 10-0 run. Reeves scored a tough 2+1, but then turned the ball over, giving Herro a 2+1 opportunity, which was quite amusing. Herro hit another long-range three-pointer, now 5 of 5 from three-point range, forcing another timeout from the Lakers. Hachimura committed a traveling violation, and Vincent missed a forced three-pointer. At halftime, the Lakers still trailed the Heat 54-66 by 12 points.
At halftime, on the Lakers' side, James shot 3 of 6, 0 of 2 from three-point range, scoring 7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal with a negative plus/minus value of -12. On the Heat's side, Herro played 18 minutes, shooting 7 of 8 for 22 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers.
It is worth noting that the bench firepower of both sides is completely different. The Heat's bench contributed a combined 21 points, with Weir scoring 8 and Jovic scoring 7; while the Lakers' bench only had Vincent scoring 5 points, with Knick, Milton, and Hayes combining for 0 of 5 with no points.
In the third quarter, Hachimura broke through the baseline, got past the defense, and scored with a one-handed dunk, already with 14 points. Davis missed several close-range shots in a row, while James hit two consecutive three-pointers, and the Lakers opened the second half with a 16-5 run to close the gap to 1 point, forcing a timeout from the Heat. James drew an offensive foul on Adebayo and was hit in the knee, showing a very painful expression. Herro turned around James and hit a fadeaway jumper, already with 29 points. Jovic made a turnover and was intercepted, and Knick made a counterattack foul. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers closed the gap to 2 points at 83-85.
In the fourth quarter, Reeves stole the ball and made a great pass to assist James in performing a gliding air-jam dunk, allowing the Lakers to tie the score. Weir's volleyball block was called for goaltending, and he then blocked Christie again. Hachimura held the ball and stepped back to hit a three-pointer, giving the Lakers a 4-point lead over the Heat. James scored 7 points with inside and outside shots, and with 1 minute and 52 seconds left, the Lakers led by 9 points. Ultimately, the Lakers completed a 14-point comeback to defeat the Heat, ending their three-game losing streak and successfully avenging their loss to the Heat. Additionally, their record tied with the Clippers, rising to fifth in the Western Conference. It must be said that the Lakers have come to realize the reality, and Redick really has something. As long as they persist in such a lineup, maybe the Lakers can really make another championship push this season.
In terms of statistics, on the Lakers' side, Davis shot 9 of 21 for 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; James scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals, continuing to set the NBA record for scoring in double figures in 1257 consecutive games; Hachimura scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers; Christie contributed 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. On the Heat's side, Herro shot 12 of 18 for 34 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 7 turnovers; Adebayo scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers; Harkless contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.