LOS ANGELES — When it came to the Lakers’ declining defense, “connected” was the buzzword ahead of their matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Because in their eyes, when they’re in sync and playing defense as a unit, they can compete with any team in the NBA, Coach JJ Redick said.
And in their 117-108 victory over the Heat, they showed exactly what that meant.
After a pedestrian first-half defensive performance, the Lakers turned up their defensive execution and attention to detail, flipping a 12-point halftime deficit into a nine-point victory to end their three-game losing streak.
“There was nothing we changed schematically,” Redick said. “I implored our team to talk more and play harder. We did that.”
Anthony Davis diving for a loose ball that led to a LeBron James 3-pointer to cut what had been a 14-point deficit to one midway through the third quarter encapsulated the shift in defensive intensity the Lakers had in the second half.
“There was a number of inspiring plays tonight that led to runs or gave us a little life as they started to make a run,” guard Gabe Vincent said. “But anytime one of your top-two players, top-three players, best player is diving on the floor for a loose ball that gives everybody a little life. That got the bench a little more excited. That gives us a little more energy, and we fed off all that.”
Redick said that he challenged the entire team to step up with their leadership ahead of Wednesday’s game. And not just with being vocal, which he said is a requirement for any NBA player, but with on-court decision-making.
“And that’s a great example to me of leadership from A.D. – is being the first to the floor in a tight game,” Redick said. “It’s a momentum-swinging play for us. I wanted to give him some love when he did it.”
The Lakers (21-17) moved in front at 88-87 with 10:47 left in the fourth after going on a 15-4 run.
James, who finished with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds, scored nine of his points in the fourth, with his late shot-making giving the Lakers their first victory since they beat the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 3.
“Any time you play the Miami Heat, you know one thing about them, they’re not going to beat themselves,” James said. “They’re going to play hard. If you don’t match their intensity, then they’re going to beat you. In the second half, we matched their intensity, we exceeded it, what we did in the first half. It helped us result in playing some good basketball and winning the game.”
The Lakers held the Heat to just 42 second-half points after Miami scored 38 points in the first quarter. It was a welcome change after the Lakers were blitzed by the San Antonio Spurs in the second half on Monday.
Davis led the Lakers with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and two steals.
“Whatever is required for you to do for us to get a win, just do it,” Davis said of Redick’s message about leadership. “And that’s how guys outside of me and Bron can lead. And those guys also have more than enough right to say what they have to say as well. It goes back to being connected.
“Everybody in the locker room just needed that. The coaching staff also told us they can be better in that department. So we all just wanted to show that we were all connected and anybody can lead.”
Rui Hachimura finished with a team-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Austin Reaves had 14 point, 14 assists and three steals, while Max Christie had 16 points and Vincent added 14 points and four assists off of the bench.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting (7 for 12 from 3-point range).
But Miami turned the ball over 20 times for 23 Laker points, limiting the effectiveness of the visitors’ strong perimeter shooting (16 for 36 from behind the arc).
The Lakers took 17 more shots than the Heat (90-73) with the help of their ball security, finishing with just seven turnovers.
James spoke with reporters for the first time since the deadly wildfires started in the Los Angeles area last week, saying his family was one of several who had to evacuate their homes.
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of emotions,” James said. “I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades. My heart goes out to all of the families, all across not only the Palisades, but all across L.A. County and all the surrounding areas because of the fire and things of that nature. It’s been a lot of emotions.
“Kinda been off. Personally, I’ve been off. Personally, my family, we’ve been evacuated since [last] Thursday night, so I’ve been in a hotel since pretty much when we got back from Dallas. Just figuring it out. But staying strong for one another. Obviously, that’s most important. Our friends that lost their homes, just being there for them. It’s very challenging, especially when you got kids and you lose your home and all their belongings and my friends got wives – its a lot to try to wrap your head around it.
“I’m very happy that my family is safe. My wife and my three kids and my mom, she’s been here, everyone is safe. But I’ve just been off. I’ve just been completely off for obvious reasons, but hopefully things are contained or continue to be contained. And hopefully at some point we can start to push forward and move forward and put it behind us and rebuild our city, rebuild this beautiful city, and things of that nature.”