The Miami Heat sought to bounce back after a tough loss against a competitive young San Antonio Spurs team on Thursday night, with a final score of 107-101. It was also the second game of their current Western Conference road trip. They would then face the Los Angeles Lakers, who were coming off a strong victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, with a final score of 117-112. They also just got superstar Luka Doncic back from his finger injury and he didn’t appear to miss a step, finishing with 44 points, along with six three-pointers made, 12 rebounds, and six assists.

The Heat remained without guard Norman Powell, who was originally questionable but later listed as out for the game. He’s missed the last three games now due to right groin soreness. Tyler Herro (ankle), Kasparas Jakucionas (groin), and Terry Rozier (not with the team) were already crossed out from last night’s game.

As for the Lakers, they would lack some size after center Deandre Ayton was ruled out due to back spasms, missing his first game of the season. He was originally listed as probable, then downgraded as the hours went on. The team was also without Gabe Vincent (ankle), LeBron James (sciatica), Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain), and Adou Theiro (left knee).

The starting lineups:

Heat: Davion Mitchell-Pelle Larsson-Andrew Wiggins-Bam Adebayo-Kel’el Ware

Lakers: Luka Doncic-Austin Reaves-Marcus Smart-Rui Hachimura-Jaxson Hayes

The Heat stuck with Pelle Larsson as Powell continues to be sidelined; meanwhile, the Lakers rolled with their fifth different starting unit in just seven games into the season.

It was time for tipoff and the Lakers kicked off the scoring with a Hachimura three-pointer. They would go on an 8-0 run before the Heat’s first field goal made of the game, an alley-oop to Kel’el Ware.

It was a first quarter taken over by Jaxson Hayes, who made the most of his expanded opportunity. He recorded 11 points, including a three-pointer, his first since Jan. 1, 2023.

Bronny James found himself on the court early, playing his fourth game of the season. He had a moment of his own, on the receiver’s end of an alley-oop dunk from Austin Reaves, also his first field goal made of the season.

Jarred Vanderbilt was the Lakers’ primary backup center, but he picked up two early fouls in the first quarter.

Despite a hot start, the Heat remained within striking distance, but only made one three-pointer out of eight attempts.

The Lakers led at the end, 43-36, which is the most points the Heat have allowed in a first quarter thus far this season.

The second quarter started with a three-point attempt from Andrew Wiggins, who drew a foul on Vanderbilt, his third of the game, and made two out of three.

However, the Heat's three-point shooting woes continued, missing on five out of nine attempts. Before last night’s game, they shot 40.5 percent from behind the arc. If it wasn’t for Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s early flare, who finished the first half with 16 points, things could’ve looked worse.

The Lakers then sparked a 10-3 run, with a few points scored by Doncic. They then extended their lead to 18, their biggest of the night.

The Heat weren’t getting enough stops to find a rhythm offensively.

The first half of the game finished with a score of 77-63, in favor of the Lakers. They had five players in double figures, four from the starting unit. As for the Heat, only Jaquez Jr. reached double figures.

An interesting note for the Heat, Kel’el Ware only played six minutes, all in the first quarter.

To begin the third quarter, they went on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits. However, the Lakers responded with a couple of three-pointers to counter.

Erik Spoesltra remained adamant to add Ware to the action.

There was a stagnant moment when Jaquez Jr. was called for an offensive foul with Reaves attempting to take a charge on a fastbreak. However, Spoelstra challenged and it was successful. The foul was then placed on Reaves, Jaquez Jr.’s layup counted, and he converted on the three-point play.

The Heat were creeping back on the Lakers, sparking an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to five. Ware still yet to be seen since the start of the game. However, the Lakers were able to regain momentum with a couple of key possessions.

It finally happened, at the 1:09 minute mark, Ware re-entered the game.

The Lakers remained ahead heading into the fourth quarter, with a score of 102-98, but the Heat were creeping back, especially after a three-pointer made by Dru Smith before the buzzer.

As the final 12 minutes of basketball action began, after a few empty possessions, Jaquez Jr. continued his hot scoring with a putback dunk.

Ware was then able to get a touch on the basketball with a reverse layup to cut the lead the three.

However, the Lakers scored on meaningful possessions to maintain their lead. The Heat were still within striking distance. After a timeout was called, Jaquez Jr. and Marcus Smart were caught jawing at one another.

The Lakers continued to score on key possessions, especially Reaves with a fadeaway after losing the ball, to maintain ahead.

Afterwards, the Heat didn’t have enough and fell to defeat, with a final score of 130-120, dropping their record to 3-3 on the season.

Biggest takeaways of the game:

Heat; Sluggish from behind the arc:

Before last night’s game, the Heat were among the best three-point shooting teams in the league. They made nine out of 33 attempts against the Lakers, 27.3 percent. Simone Fontecchio, who’s been the team’s best shooter thus far, only made two out of eight attempts, 25 percent. It was an off-night for the veteran forward, who finished with nine points and four rebounds.

"I think if you score 120, you get 66 in the paint, you get 36 free throw attempts, that should give you a better opportunity to win in my mind," Spoelstra said postgame. "That should've been a possession game going down the stretch. Shot 50 percent from the field. We need probably what we did in the third quarter, beginning of the fourth. We needed that for 48 minutes to give ourselves a better chance."

Heat; Cold from the line:

The Heat were also among the best free-throw shooting teams in the league. However, as a team, they only made 25 out of 36 attempts. It was a wasted opportunity as the Lakers committed the second-fewest personal fouls and allowed the third-fewest free throw attempts before last night’s game.

Lakers; Contributions from everyone:

The Lakers were already shorthanded to begin the season, but lost Ayton due to back spasms before the game tipped off. However, they had finished with six players in double figures.

Doncic finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals in 38 minutes, his first triple-double of the season.

Jake LaRavia was arguably the most impactful player for the Lakers. He recorded 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals in 35 minutes. He had a few dunks and putbacks that electrified the home crowd.

Austin Reaves finished with 26 points, four rebounds, and 11 assists in 38 minutes. He scored on a few crucial possessions to keep the Lakers’ lead up.

Heat; Hometown hero:

Jaquez Jr. was born and raised a California native, also playing for the University of California throughout college. He led the Heat with 31 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 35 minutes. However, it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

"We just let some of those early fouls discourage us," he said postgame. "We just got to stay through the course. Reaves and Doncic, they got something, they know how to draw fouls. That's something tough that we got to guard. We got to be disciplined. We dug ourselves into a hole and it was almost too late to dig ourselves back out."

Heat; The next game:

The Heat will have less than 24 hours to redeem themselves, travel 18 miles south and prepare to face the Los Angeles Clippers, who are currently undefeated at home. It’s a tough matchup, but as they’re currently winless on the four-game road trip, pressure rises.

Only time will tell how the team responds.