Shorthanded LA Lakers Take Down Miami Heat in Another OT Victory; Jimmy Butler Exits Game With Ankle Sprain
Malik Monk #11 of the Los Angeles Lakers splits the defense of Kyle Lowry #7 and Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat during the second half of a game at Staples Center on November 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Despite being shorthanded, the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night took down Miami Heat, 120-117, in their second straight overtime victory at home to move to 7-5.

According to Silver Screen And Roll, the "Purple and Gold" squad gave one of the Eastern Conference's top teams, the Miami Heat, everything that they could handle and got their biggest win of the season in the process.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat

The Los Angeles Lakers missed almost half of their roster, and with just nine eligible players from the full-time roster, the Lakers still beat the Heat at Staples.

Laker guard Russell Westbrook had one of his best games so far this season. Westbrook recorded another triple-double performance in Lakers uniform. He finished the game with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists.

The California native came up huge down the stretch with 10 points in the fourth period, capped off by two huge midrange jumpers to put the Lakers up 112-110 with less than a minute remaining. However, Westbrook missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the Lakers' last possession of regulation which forced the game to go overtime.

Anthony Davis had a relatively quiet game, but he ended the game with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Davis worked all night after going up against two well-regarded interior defenders in Bam Adebayo and P.J. Tucker.

Davis gave the Lakers the defensive size and speed to help the team in getting in transitions while banging up in the paint.

Shorthanded Lakers Beat Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat

The Lakers were down six players on Wednesday against the Heat. Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, Trevor Ariza, Talen Horton-Tucker, Rajon Rondo, and "The King" himself, LeBron James, missed the team's game against the Heat on Wednesday.

Though Lakers fans got some good news in LeBron James' case earlier on Wednesday as reports said the NBA star's abdominal strain was not a severe injury. Of the remaining five other players, Ariza, Horton-Tucker, and Nunn have yet to play this season and likely won't for a while. Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo and rookie Reaves were placed on a day-to-day basis after they experienced mild hamstring issues.

In their absence, Malik Monk, Avery Bradley, and Wayne Ellington took their duties in the court. They all had so far their finest games of the season.

The three veteran guards combined for 56 points. Bradley dropped 17 points while starting alongside Westbrook and Monk with a season-high 27 off the bench to go with Ellington's 12.

Monk, in particular, was phenomenal. The newly acquired guard hit clutch shot after clutch shot to go 10-13 from the field and 4-7 from three.

Monk outdueled fellow bench sparkplug Tyler Herro, who finished the game with an impressive 27 points and gave the Lakers fits all night.

The Heat also suffered an injury-related blow in the first half when Jimmy Butler exited with a twisted ankle. Butler left the game and was sidelined after playing 12 minutes on the night.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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