NBA 2018-19: Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers - 3 Talking Points

The Los Angeles Lakers came away with a tight 108-105 victory over the Miami Heat in what will certainly be Dwyane Wade's last encounter at the Staples Center. Wade added 15 points and 10 assists off the bench for the Heat side that won the last encounter here against the Clippers. After the match, Wade and James exchanged jerseys and James also edged ahead in head to head matches against Dwyane Wade 16-15.

The Lakers looked lethargic for most of the match, not playing with the pace and energy which helped them blow away the Grizzlies. But they improved once the match started getting towards the endpoint.

LeBron James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone while Kyle Kuzma added 33 points for the match to continue his hot shooting run. The Miami Heat got great support from the bench. Justice Winslow scored his career-high 28 points with 6-10 from beyond the arc to always keep the game close. Here are the top 3 takeaways from the match:

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#3 Low energy and free throw struggles for the Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers won a tight match

For the most part of the first three quarters, it seemed as if the Lakers lacked effort both on the offensive and the defensive side. LeBron James was surveying the court and looking to find open teammates and not driving and scoring points for himself. Lonzo was missing most of his shots and even passed some open shots.

The Heat were better on the glass. They were rebounding and getting second-chance points. The Lakers struggled continued mightily from the Free Throw Line. They shot just 12-20 from the FT line. LeBron was 2-6 from the line before he shot the two clutch free throws.

The Lakers need to improve on their free throw shooting if they want to compete with the Warriors in the West.

#2 Bench strength on display for the Miami Heat

Justice Winslow scored 28 points off the bench

The bench unit of the Miami Heat kept them in the match throughout. They got massive productions from their bench players. The Heat bench outscored the Lakers bench 66-24.

Justice Winslow had a career night coming off the bench for the Heat. He scored 28 points with 6 made threes. Kelly Olynyk chipped in with 15 points and was bothering the Lakers from both inside and outside the 3-point line. Dwyane Wade played 32 minutes and came out with the points-assists double-double. The Lakers could not get much production from their second unit and that always kept the match close.

Caldwell-Pope led the bench unit for the Lakers scoring 11 points on 3-7 shooting from the deep. None of the others provided a significant contribution.

The Miami Heat failed to hit on two 3-point attempts to tie the game in the final seconds of the game. The Heat are now the 9th ranked team in the Eastern Conference.

#1 The dynamic display from the Lakers duo

LeBron James fell one rebound short of a triple double

The Los Angeles Lakers had their duo of Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James to thank for the victory tonight. The two scored a combined 61 points for the Lakers on 24 of 41 shooting from the floor to always keep the Lakers in the game.

Kyle Kuzma is getting back his scoring touch with consistent performances in recent matches. He shot 14 of 22 from the field with LeBron dishing out the assists for most of his points. LeBron James had a 28 points, 9 boards and 12 assists night with 4-7 shooting from the deep. He was quiet for most of the match but became aggressive in the fourth quarter.

Lonzo Ball had a 10 points and 7 rebounds performance to go along with 2 blocks and 3 steals on the defensive end.

The Los Angeles Lakers improve to a 17-10 record and next go on a four-game road trip starting at the Houston Rockets.

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