Lakers break away late from Miami Heat, end 3-game losing streak

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers needed a win. Did they ever.

They found one with a combination that eluded them in a three-game losing streak — good defense and scoring from unlikely sources.

It also helped that LeBron James closed with a flurry of points in the final minutes of the Lakers’ slump-breaking 117-108 victory Wednesday over the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena.

Rui Hachimura scored 23 points, and Gabe Vincent added 14 off the bench as the Lakers (21-17) took their first win since Jan. 3.

If it seemed longer than that, it’s understandable. Los Angeles County has been consumed for a week by wildfires that caused at least 26 deaths and wiped out over 12,000 structures.

The Lakers lost two games in Texas last week, then had two games postponed because of the fires before returning to the court for an uninspiring loss to San Antonio in which they were outscored in the second half, 73-40.

Wednesday led to a flipped script, the Lakers outscoring Miami in the second half, 63-40, after figuring out how to stop Heat guard Tyler Herro.

“It was really our defense that allowed us to get back into the game and ultimately to win,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

It also helped to have James. The Lakers held a slim two-point lead with 3:25 to play when he went to work.

He drilled a three-pointer, followed by a 15-footer and an 18-footer to give the Lakers a much more comfortable nine-point lead.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games this year, but more importantly, some of these we’ve let slip away,” James told Spectrum SportsNet. “I had an opportunity to kind of put my footprint in the game. I was kind of playing an overall game throughout the first three quarters, but I felt like my scoring was needed in the fourth quarter in order for us to overcome such a tough Miami team.”

James finished with 22 points and nine assists. Anthony Davis added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.

Herro had 22 points in the first half but only 12 in the second half for the Heat, who fell to 20-19. Miami went without suspended forward Jimmy Butler, who missed a seventh consecutive game because of conduct detrimental to the team, a.k.a. requesting a trade to another franchise.

In the end, the Lakers took a game they needed to win. James hoped it was worth something, if anything, to those that lost their homes or loved ones.

“It’s been a hell of a week for us here in LA, but we’ve got to stick together and we know how to bond together,” James said. “Hopefully we was able to bring a little excitement to the households wherever you are.”