Winners of 12 of their last 13 games at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Miami Heat 92-91 after Isaiah Thomas missed the potential game-winner. While it was a clean look, the final play was not designed for him.
Following the loss, head coach Luke Walton revealed the final play was actually for Julius Randle, but the Heat did a solid job of forcing Thomas to take the final shot, who finished with just five points on 1/9 shooting from the field in 27 minutes.
“The ball to get to Julius,” Walton said. “The guy defending Zo did a good job of leaving and denying Julius. We couldn't get the ball in. Isaiah got a clean look though. We can't complain about that. I think he was probably a little cold. He had been on the bench for a while but if you get an open look for someone like IT at the end like that, you live with that.”
Article Continues BelowDespite 20 turnovers and giving up 12 offensive rebounds, the Lakers gave themselves a chance to win it. Once again, Randle led the team with 25 points (9/17 shooting from the field) and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes. In addition, Brook Lopez finished with 18 points on 4/6 shooting from beyond the arc in 33 minutes.
Now, the Lakers will embark on their final road trip of the 2017-18 NBA season. With Los Angeles starting their road trip against the Indiana Pacers, they will also face the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and Detroit Pistons. Despite all the recent injuries, all of these are winnable games for the young Lakers.
After winning more than 30 games for the first time since the 2012-13 season, the question is how close they can get to 40 wins.