Winslow, Whiteside lift Heat over Lakers
MIAMI -- Justise Winslow scored a career-high 23 points and Hassan Whiteside had his sixth double-double in a row to lead the Miami Heat past the Los Angeles Lakers 115-107 on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Whiteside and Winslow each had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Whiteside has 23 double-doubles this season, tying him for the NBA lead with Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
It was the first career double-double for the second-year forward Winslow as the Heat (10-20) snapped a three-game losing streak. All three of those losses came at home.
Point guard Goran Dragic was having a subpar game until he scored eight straight Heat points, a 58-second run that started with 5:01 left. He finished with 21 points.
The Lakers (11-21), who blew a 19-point second-quarter lead, lost 11 of their past 12 games. The Lakers were led by Lou Williams, who came off the bench to score 27 points, and Nick Young added 20.
Miami got excellent production from its top two reserves, James Johnson, who had 19 points, and Tyler Johnson, who added 14 points.
Los Angeles got off to a quick start. It took Miami nearly five minutes to score a point as the Lakers took an 11-0 lead on six points by Timofey Mozgov and five by D'Angelo Russell. By the end of the first quarter, Mozgov had 10 points, and the Lakers had a 25-17 lead.
The Lakers led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter, but Miami rallied to cut its deficit to 60-53 at the half. Williams came off the Lakers bench to score 10 second-quarter points.
Miami outshot the Lakers in the first half with a 54.5 percentage. Los Angeles shot 50.0 percent.
The Heat went on a 13-2 third-quarter run, capped by a Winslow bucket, to grab its first lead of the game 79-78. By the end of the third, Miami increased its advantage to 82-80.
Whiteside and Lakers forward Thomas Robinson were each hit with technical fouls early in the fourth quarter as they had a brief skirmish.
NOTES: Lakers starting PF Julius Randle missed the game as he was with his fiancee, Kendra, expecting their first child. ... Lakers backup PF Larry Nance Jr. (knee) also missed the game. ... Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, who led Miami to the 2006 NBA title, had his No. 32 jersey retired by the Heat at halftime. ... The Lakers will unveil a 9-foot Shaq statue March 24 at Staples Center, before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. ... SF Luol Deng, who started 146 games for Miami the past two years, is now a Lakers starter. ... The Heat had three injured perimeter players on the sideline: Wayne Ellington (hamstring), Rodney McGruder (ankle) and Dion Waiters (groin). All three have started games for Miami this season. ... Lakers PG Jose Calderon (hamstring) is out two-to-four weeks. ... Lakers C Tarik Black (left ankle) sat out his second straight game.