Heat at Lakers
Two of the holiday season's most popular attractions do battle
Christmas Day as the two-time defending-champion Miami Heat take on the
decidedly less star-studded Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Miami
comes into the Wednesday evening showdown having escaped with a 121-119
overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks two nights earlier. The Lakers
find themselves scrambling to get back to the .500 mark after getting
walloped 117-90 by Phoenix.
The matchup was undoubtedly put
together with an eye toward Miami's Big Three, led by perennial MVP
candidate LeBron James, tangling with Los Angeles' talented trio of Kobe
Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol. But Bryant is out until February with
a stress fracture in his knee while Nash continues to miss time with a
nerve root irritation. Gasol has been the only reliable option in the
struggling Lakers' starting five and faces a tall task against the
powerhouse Heat.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE HEAT (21-6):
Miami realized early in the season that it would need to regulate its
star players' minutes in order to ensure they stay healthy heading into
what is hopefully another long playoff run. The Heat employed part of
that strategy Monday against the Hawks, giving veteran guard Dwyane Wade
the night off to deal what the team called "soreness." It was curious
timing - Wade is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week -
but head coach Eric Spoelstra wanted Wade at his best heading into the
game against the Lakers.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (13-15): Los
Angeles wishes its problems could be solved by a little extra rest. The
season is quickly spiraling out of control and hit a new low against
the up-tempo Suns as the Lakers shot just 37 percent from the field
while getting outrebounded by an absurd 62-39 margin. Gasol returned to
the lineup against Phoenix after missing the previous game with an upper
respiratory infection but looked overmatched against Suns big man
Mason Plumlee, who racked up 17 points and 20 rebounds in the one-sided
win.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams last met Feb. 10, with the Heat rolling to a 107-97 triumph behind 32 points from James.
2. Wade averages 25 points and 6.5 assists in 19 career regular-season games versus Los Angeles.
3. Miami is 7-2 in Christmas Day games since coming into the league, while the Lakers are 6-8 since 1990.