On Thursday night, Isaiah Thomas caught fire and put the game to bed early in the fourth quarter, as the Los Angeles Lakers continued to be one of the hottest teams in the NBA when they collected their fourth straight win by beating the Miami Heat in South Florida, 131-113.
Following a nine-game losing streak that concluded in early January, the Lakers have won 16 of 23 games heading down the home stretch of the season and finished the night 27-34.
Thursday night in Miami continued the team's positive play, as LA led by double digits for the majority of the second half. The Lakers started the game with energy, as Lonzo Ball returned to the starting lineup after Josh Hart returned to LA with a fractured hand.
LA led 20-7 early in the contest, but neither team appeared interested in a low scoring first half. Miami managed to rally and erase the Lakers' early 13-point advantage and took a three-point lead by the end of the first 12 minutes.
Dwyane Wade had a perfect first half from the field and even made a trick shot over the backboard at one stage. The Miami veteran eventually finished the contest with 25 points, tied for game-high honors.
Level of difficulty: 💯 pic.twitter.com/0APwpMwwA3— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 2, 2018
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In the second quarter, the Lakers poured in the points and dropped a 40-point period to record 73 points in the first half, which was a season-high for LA.
As is often the case for the Lakers when they play well, the purple and gold shared the ball. Fewer than two minutes into the second half, Brook Lopez became the fifth Lakers' player to score in double figures on the night. Before the midway point in the third quarter, Brandon Ingram became the sixth visitor to score in double figures.
Still, Miami remained competitive with Goran Dragic leading the charge. Dragic would eventually finish with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds in the loss. Entering the fourth quarter, the Lakers led by 10 points with Miami still a threat to make a push at home.
However, an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter ended the hometown hopes, as Thomas scored all 11 points for the Lakers during that well-timed run to start the decisive quarter. Suddenly, a 10-point game turned into a 20-point game, and Miami never recovered.
Thomas finished with a season-high 29 points, which is the guard's highest output since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals when he was still with the Boston Celtics. After an offseason trade to Cleveland and a midseason trade to Los Angeles, Thomas appears to be finding his comfort zone in LA. "I.T." also added six assists and four rebounds in the win.
In terms of stuffing the box score, several Lakers excelled in that department on this day. Julius Randle's 25 points, which tied for game-high honors, included 9/9 from the foul line, and the bulky forward also added six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Ingram had yet another balanced all-around game with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block on the night.
🎥 Julius Randle dominated the paint yet again, totaling 25 points and 6 rebounds against the Heat #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/EtbRZuYrh6— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 2, 2018
The master of stuffing the box score, though, is Ball. In his first start since Jan. 13, Ball finished the night with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals. As a note, the entire Miami team combined for six steals on the night. Ball was also a game-high +24, meaning the Lakers clearly benefited from having the 20-year-old on the court. LA has been cautious with Ball's minutes since his return from a knee injury, but Thursday featured the rookie out of UCLA playing 34 active minutes in the victory.
With Corey Brewer waived on Wednesday and Hart fracturing his hand the same day, Lakers coach Luke Walton used an eight-man rotation in Miami. Along with Thomas, Kyle Kuzma and Ivica Zubac got minutes off the bench. Kuzma hit three of his four attempts from distance for 16 points on the night, and Thomas and Kuzma combined for 9/13 from three-point land for LA. As a team, Miami made 9/31 from three on the night.
Zubac played 18 minutes and only scored six points on 1/3 shooting, but the seven-footer tabbed four assists, three rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes on the floor.
All in all, the Lakers cruised to their fourth straight win and started their four-game road trip 3-0. Next, LA plays in San Antonio on Saturday night before returning home.
