LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Lakers won for the second time in three games, defeating the Miami Heat 127-100 on Friday, January 6.
Lou Williams led the Lakers with 24 points and three assists in their 14th victory of the season. D’Angelo Russell had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Luol Deng scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Julius Randle added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Brandon Ingram contributed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench. Tarik Black recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Willie Reed had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who have lost 8 of their last 10 games. Joe Johnson scored 20 points off the bench and Tyler Johnson added 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson and Miami’s Goran Dragic were both ejected after the pair engaged in a confrontation after Clarkson appeared to knock Dragic to the ground with a shove in the third quarter.
Dragic had scored 16 points before getting ejected, and is the Heat’s leading scorer of the season. Miami’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra, was not pleased with the ejection.
“That’s really shameful, disgraceful that Goran Dragic got thrown out of that game,” Spoelstra said. “It’s an elbow to the face, somebody that wants to fight knocks him down on the ground, and just a bail-out, shameful, disgraceful ejection. There’s no way he should be thrown out of that situation for just taking an elbow to the face, getting up, not even necessarily defending himself, just getting up.”
Miami is 11-27 overall and in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The Heat will face the Los Angeles Clippers in their next game on Sunday, January 8.
The Lakers have lost 7 of their last 10 games, falling to 14-26 on the season. Los Angeles will continue a three-game home-stand against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, January 8.
