The Los Angeles Lakers played their 60th game and collected their 44th loss of the 2014/15 season on Wednesday night in Miami.
Jeremy Lin put in another noteworthy performance, but Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside stole the show with 25 rebounds in the 100-94 win for Miami.
The Lakers started the games strong with usual suspects Wayne Ellington, Carlos Boozer and Jordan Clarkson combining for 18 points in the first quarter. When Lin entered the game, he quickly stamped his mark on the contest with five points and six assists before the halftime intermission.
At the halfway mark, Boozer and Ellington led all scorers with 12 points apiece. Heat forward Luol Deng led the home team with 11 points, but Whiteside had already started to disrupt the Lakers' shots and control the boards.
At the break, Whiteside already had nine points and eight rebounds. At the final buzzer, the towering center would walk off the court with 18 points, 25 rebounds and four block shots. As a team, the Lakers finished with only one block shot on the night.
"Well, you got one guy that out-rebounded all our bigs," Lakers coach Byron Scott said after the game on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. "I think that says enough."
Dwyane Wade may not be the same player he was five years ago, but he still finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with six assists. The Lakers shared the ball and finished with seven players scoring in double figures. No coincidence, all four bench players scored at least 10 points, as Lin continued to dish with precision and set up teammates.
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On Wednesday, Lin continued to look comfortable wearing purple and gold. The 26-year-old entered the contest averaging 18.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists over his past six games, and the backup point guard finished Wednesday's game with 12 points and nine assists. He also added four steals to the box score.
In terms of game-flow, the Lakers and Heat went back and forth throughout the night. Leading by five points at the half, LA predictably came out slow in the third quarter and fell behind by 10 points. After a Lin-inspired rally (it took real effort not to use "Linspired"), the Lakers and Heat had a tie ball game with just under 11 minutes to play.
In the deciding quarter, the Lakers took hold of a slim lead early in the period and held on until Heat point guard Goran Dragic hit a three-pointer with 3:30 remaining to give Miami a 90-88 lead. From that point forward, the Lakers never tied or led the game again. Clarkson had an open look at a three-pointer to tie the game with 16.9 seconds to play. The shot did not fall, and the Lakers lost.
Next, the LA Lakers travel to Tennessee and play the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday evening at 5 p.m. PT.
