Approximately 24 hours after Alex Caruso shared disturbing details about the inexplicable lowball offer the Los Angeles Lakers made in free agency, one of his replacements — Malik Monk — played the hero (and Tyler Herro) in L.A.'s latest dramatic victory. This game, a 120-117 overtime win over the Miami Heat, happened to be the team's best win of the 2021-22 season.

In 35 minutes, Monk dropped 27 points on a scorching 10-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds and finished as a plus-12. It was the fifth-highest scoring game of his four-year NBA career, and his first time eclipsing 20 points with the Lakers.

Simply put: the Lakers don't win this ballgame without Monk's brilliance. He nailed numerous ballsy and difficult shots down the stretch. He took over the crunch-time 2-guard spot with Austin Reaves out (hamstring strain) and assumed backup point guard duties at times with Rajon Rondo nursing a hamstring injury, too.

This came after a highlight-reel performance vs. his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, on Monday, which included a ridiculous reverse layup and half-court buzzer-beater.

“Just to attack,” Monk said about his mindset on Wednesday. “I had this happen a couple times last year in Charlotte and the year before that when a lot of guys got hurt and I had to come in and play big minutes. Facilitate and do other things I normally don’t do, but I work on my game a lot so I was really prepared for this moment.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Zo3P6h2IxQPod1w4DFTMP?si=da868378b84c4560

At one point in the second half, Monk and Tyler Herro traded clutch buckets. However, Monk said he wasn't specifically trying to keep up with Herro. Rather, like John Wick, he was just out to destroy whoever was in his way.

“I wasn't matching, man. I was just playing basketball. He just happened to be in front of me. He's a great player …  but I'm trying to kill everyone in front of me.”

Earlier in the season, Monk went through a stretch where he scored three points in four games. When I asked Frank Vogel about his struggles, Vogel said the Lakers needed to improve their ball movement to get him better looks.

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Since then, Monk has scored in double figures in three straight games, although it isn't exclusively due to better dishing. Monk's personal shotmaking skills have been on full display.

“Whether I’m playing five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, they always give me compliments so I’m always confident going into the game,” Monk said about playing alongside his Lakers teammates. “You never know what is going to happen throughout this game, so I stay locked in. Trying to be prepared for every situation.”

Monk showed why LeBron James and his teammates call him “Microwave,” — and why the Lakers nabbing Monk on a minimum contract was largely viewed as the steal of the summer.

“Bron said it before, I've said it: We call him ‘Microwave,'” Anthony Davis lauded. “Instant scorer. We still don't know how we got him for what we got him for. He can play.”