Rui Hachimura stopped. Anthony Davis stood. Tyler Herro moved. Tyler Herro scored.
One game after being badly embarrassed on the offensive end in Minnesota, the Lakers were clobbered on the other in Miami — their body language, their lack of energy and worst of all, their general lack of fight all reasons for serious concern.
After winning six straight games, the Lakers blew a game to Orlando at the free-throw line. They were embarrassed in the second half against Denver, outclassed by Phoenix, out-toughed by Oklahoma City and completely destroyed in Minnesota.
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And still, somehow, they were never worse than they were Wednesday. They looked too old. Too unskilled. Too undisciplined. Too unserious.
The Heat blew out the Lakers 134-93, a new low in a season where losses are starting to stack up rapidly. Miami (10-10) made 24 three-pointers, the third-most ever allowed by a Lakers team.
Lakers coach JJ Redick roamed the sideline helpless, all his rage timeouts spent. Herro hit seven straight threes at one point in the third quarter, heating up faster than a microwave. Every loose ball went to Miami. Every rebound ended up with the Heat. Every ounce of momentum escaped the Lakers, who have now lost five of their last six games by an average of more than 20 points.
“I’m embarrassed for the Lakers,” Magic Johnson posted on X during the game.
LeBron James, who had been in a miserable slump during the stretch found his touch, leading the Lakers with 29 points. But everyone else, including Davis, disappeared.
In one of his worst games as a Laker, Davis scored just eight points on three-of-14 shooting, routinely getting beaten off the dribble by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. He had only seven rebounds and five assists, the Lakers (12-10) unable to solve any Miami double teams, with Davis looking like a player with no answers.
The Lakers, still without Austin Reaves because of a lower back bruise, were only mildly better on offense Wednesday than they were on defense.
The team shot just 22.7% from three and 43% from the field. Minus James and Hachimura, the Lakers were just 19 for 62 (30.6%).
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
