Keaton Wagler — the No. 5 overall pick in this year's NBA Draft — played a season-low 16 minutes in the Los Angeles Clippers' 117-116 overtime home loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. 

When asked about it afterward, head coach Ty Lue said, "That's just what I felt like." 

Lue has since apologized for the way he went about the situation before the Clippers' 139-123 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Intuit Dome on Sunday. The victory snapped the Clips' seven-game losing streak, the longest of Lue's coaching career. 

"That was a bad answer," Lue explained. "Keaton should have played more. And I told him that, too."

Such is the life of a rookie that sometimes your usage can be unpredictable. 

However, Wagler has averaged north of 20 minutes per game off the bench since becoming a Clipper, and his play didn't necessarily warrant a demotion. 

The Illinois product has been steady, averaging 12 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. The biggest issue has been his inefficiency, shooting 30 percent from the field. But even so, he's not the reason the Clippers weren't winning. 

Coincidentally, he posted 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting in the Heat game — one of his sharper outings in that regard. 

The upside of playing Wagler came to the fore in the win against the Pelicans, though he only played two more minutes. 

Wagler responded well to the setback — if you want to call it that — on and off the court, heating up for 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting (3-for-4 3PT), adding four assists. He made the most of his opportunity and handled questions about it maturely postgame. 

"I'm not too worried about the minutes," he said. "However much I do get to play, [I just want to] go out there and [make] an impact however I can." 

That kind of buy-in is what will help the Clippers (2-7) collect more wins. 

The Clippers really needed a performance like this to get back into the win column. 

The team shot 55 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range (16-for-38), led once again by star point guard Darius Garland with a 24-point, 10-assist double-double. 

The biggest plus about Garland's display was a season-low two turnovers after averaging a troubling 5.5 giveaways through the first nine games. 

Elsewhere, Brook Lopez chipped in 20 points and seven rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting in another start. Rui Hachimura added 14 points, and Kris Dunn posted 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. 

The bench held up their end of the bargain, too. 

Rookie Baba Miller impressed with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four stocks (two steals, two blocks) in 20 minutes. 

The 22-year-old notched career highs in minutes, points, assists, and steals in center Isaiah Jackson's (groin) absence, and he's expected to take on a bigger role while the big man recovers from injury. 

15 points in 17 minutes from Gradey Dick (6-for-7 FG) was also a welcome sight for the Clippers. He recorded a team-high +17.