LeBron James Scores 51 Points in Return to Miami, as Lakers Scorch Heat 113-97

LeBron James scored 51 points against his former club and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 113-97 on Sunday night.

James had 19 points in the first quarter to set the tone, the Lakers led by as many as 21 and never trailed.

"I'm very happy with our defense tonight," said Lakers head coach Luke Walton. "That's more of the trend we've been doing of late as opposed to that second, third and and fourth quarter in Orlando."

The 51 points were a season high for James, and the most he's scored against Miami; he had 47 against the Heat twice. His last shot was a 32-footer with 16 seconds left, capping the 13th 50-point game of his career — including playoffs — and he threw the ball skyward at midcourt when time expired.

"From the jump ball he was going," added Walton. "He was in attack mode. When players are as good as LeBron and they're having a night, they make it look easy."

It was James' first time winning against Miami since he left the Heat after the 2014 NBA Finals. He was 0-4 when facing the Heat since; his teams were 0-7, when including the three Cleveland-Miami games that he sat out for various reasons.

Wayne Ellington scored 19 points for Miami (6-10), which has dropped four straight home games and is off to its second-worst start in the last 12 years. The Heat were 5-11 at this point of the 2016-17 season, the only other time they've been worse after 16 games in that span.

Josh Richardson scored 17 points before getting ejected in the fourth quarter after throwing one of his sneakers about 15 rows deep into the crowd, while he was arguing about what he thought should have been a foul call that didn't come his way. Tyler Johnson also had 17 points for the Heat, while Rodney McGruder added 14.

Goran Dragic missed the game for Miami because of a right knee problem, one that will be further evaluated Monday. Dwyane Wade missed his seventh consecutive game for the Heat because of the birth of his and wife Gabrielle Union-Wade's daughter; it's possible that Wade returns to the Heat this week.

Miami hasn't forgotten James, obviously — he still gets loud cheers when introduced in his former home arena — but just in case anyone in attendance needed a reminder of what's in his skillset, he put on a show. He made eight of his first nine shots and had the whole arsenal working; dunks in transition, stepback 3-pointers, turnarounds from the baseline.

"Just give him the ball and get out of the way," said teammate Kyle Kuzma who scored 15 points of his own. "He can score with the best of them. He could probably average 40 if he wanted to."

But the biggest shot for the Lakers might have come from Brandon Ingram with 3:46 left. Miami had clawed within eight and the shot clock was about to expire on the Lakers, but Ingram connected on a long jumper from the left wing to make it 104-94. 

From there, the only drama was whether James would get 50. And he did. 

"I felt pretty good," admitted James. "I think we were all shell-shocked from Orlando from that cross country flight and getting in late to Orlando and the time difference. I was able to get some good rest last night and I felt pretty good about today's game."

TIP-INS

Lakers: This game is part of a long weekend of sorts in Miami for the Lakers, who arrived Saturday night after playing in Orlando and aren't scheduled to fly to Cleveland until Tuesday. ... Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 points, Kyle Luzma scored 15 and Ingram finished with 13.

Heat: The last time Miami lost four straight at home was early in the 2014-15 season, which was actually a five-game slide. ... Miami had the rare five-shot possession in the third quarter, with three missed layups and a missed jumper, all of them rebounded by the Heat, before Ellington made a 3-pointer. ... The Heat fouled 3-point shooters twice in the first half, after doing so only twice — total — in the season's first 15 games. 

CONSISTENT LEBRON

Whenever James changes teams — Cleveland to Miami in 2010, Miami to Cleveland in 2014, Cleveland to the Lakers this past summer — the same thing always happens: His new team starts 9-7. The Lakers surely hope the other thing that happens when James changes teams holds true, since the 2010-11 Heat and 2014-15 Cavs both went to the NBA Finals.

HEAT HELP

James Johnson played for the first time this season after finally being declared good to go following offseason sports hernia surgery. He had four fouls in the first half and finished with eight points. 

UP NEXT

Lakers: Visit Cleveland on Wednesday. The Lakers are 2-11 in their last 13 trips to Cleveland.

Heat: Host Brooklyn on Tuesday. The Heat defeated the Nets 120-107 in Brooklyn last week.