Defense falters
Wade scores 25, but defense collapses against Lakers
Heat allow 131 points in loss to Lakers.
MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra anticipated the potential avalanche that ensued.
“If the game is easy for ‘em,” he said before his team faced the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, “that snowball just keeps on rolling down the hill for them.
“So you have to make it tough for them.”
The Miami Heat didn’t, the Lakers already had 73 points at halftime on the way to a 131-113 rout.
Coming off Tuesday’s emotional win over the Philadelphia 76ers, about the only carryover for the Heat was the offensive rejuvenation of Dwyane Wade, who followed his game winning shot two nights later with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting Thursday, carry the Heat offense during stretches.
There also were 19 points from Heat point guard Goran Dragic, 15 points and 10 rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 17 points from Justise Winslow, but this had little do with that side of the ball. There also were only 18 minutes for Hassan Whiteside.
This was the Heat allowing Isaiah Thomas to experience a Lakers revival, with a seasonup
high 29 points, Julius Randle to score 25, and Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma to show why this roster could yet proving enticing to a free agent this summer.
On this night, though, there was no need for the Lakers to romanticize about the possible offseason addition of a LeBron James or a Paul George.
They were having too much fun against a Heat team that finally appeared to regain its playoff-chase legs after consecutive wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and 76ers.
Suddenly, Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, the fourth on this five-game homestand, becomes about survival at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race, with Detroit coming off a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat entered having won eight of the previous 10 meetings overall, as well as the previous nine meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena.
With Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington not available due to thigh contusions, Spoelstra had to alter his starting lineup. That had Josh Richardson opening at shooting guard, Winslow at small forward, and Kelly Olynyk inserted at power forward, to play alongside Whiteside and Dragic.
That, in turn, had Adebayo and James Johnson playing as the first two reserves off the bench, followed by Rodney McGruder and then Wade.
But after the Heat yielded those 73 first-half points, Spoelstra opened the second half with Adebayo at power forward, alongside Whiteside, with Olynyk on the bench.
After falling behind by 22 in the fourth quarter, the Heat closed within 124-111, but by then there had been far too much defensive damage.
The Heat fell behind by 16 in the third period before closing within 104-94 going into the fourth quarter.
After returning to the starting lineup at the outset, Olynyk did not enter in the second half until 2:34 remained in the third period.
The Lakers stood at .623 from the field at the end of the third period and 11 of 19 on 3-pointers, with the Heat again struggling with their pick-androll defense.
The Lakers opened the second period on a 16-2 run and just kept going, moving to a 73-62 halftime lead, shooting 63 percent in the first half, with 38 points in the paint, in their highest-scoring half of the season.
Randle already was up to 21 points by the intermission.
The Lakers used an early 12-0 run to move to a 20-7 lead, before the Heat, boosted by Adebayo’s energy, tied it at 22-22.
Adebayo and McGruder kept going from there, giving the Heat a 36-33 lead going into the second period.
It was the first game of a two-game season series that concludes March 16 at Staples Center.
The game was the third on a fourgame trip for the Lakers, but coming off a two-day break after Monday’s 123-104 victory in Atlanta. The Lakers entered on a three-game winning streak, with victories in seven of their previous 10.
The Heat were coming off Tuesday’s 102-101 victory over the 76ers, when Wade scored 27 points.
The Heat entered 10-12 against the Western Conference, including 4-7 at home, as well as 19-7 against teams with losing records.