National Basketball Association
L.A. Lakers 127, Miami 100
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #53 CJ Washington, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 18997

LOS ANGELES -- A third-quarter altercation sparked the Los Angeles Lakers and literally took the fight out of the Miami Heat.

Lou Williams scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half and the Lakers rolled past the Heat 127-100 in a testy affair on Friday night at Staples Center.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was livid after Heat guard Goran Dragic was ejected along with Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson when the two players scuffled in the third quarter.

"It's really shameful, disgraceful that Goran Dragic got thrown out of that game," Spoelstra said. "Gets an elbow to his face, somebody that wants to fight knocks him down on the ground and just a bailout, shameful, disgraceful ejection. There's no way he should be thrown out of that situation for just taking an elbow to the face and getting up. Not even necessarily defending himself, just getting up.

At that point, it's an eight-point game and we pretty much just let it go from there. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but he is our best player and having him go down with us on the stretch, it's probably a one-possession game."

Luol Deng and D'Angelo Russell contributed 19 points apiece for the Lakers (14-26), who beat the Heat for only the second time in their last 10 meetings.

"I thought we played smart," said Deng, a former member of the Heat, who also pulled down 14 rebounds. "We've been playing well, a lot better offensively, passing the ball. I thought tonight was one of those games where we got the lead, we give it up, and once we had the lead our concentration was a lot better. We were just focused on the win."

Rookie Brandon Ingram finished with 17 points and six rebounds, and Julius Randle added 15 points and six rebounds for Los Angeles. Tarik Black chipped in 10 points and 11 boards.

Center Willie Reed led the Heat (11-27) with 22 points and 12 boards. James Johnson collected 20 points and Tyler Johnson scored 11 for the Heat, who have lost seven of their last eight games.

Miami played again without center Hassan Whiteside, their leading scorer and rebounder who was sidelined for the fourth straight game with a right retinal contusion.

With 5:29 left in the third quarter and the Lakers leading 76-68, Clarkson and Dragic got tangled up under the Miami basket before Clarkson knocked Dragic down with a forearm to the chin. Both players were ejected.

"It was a heated game. Stuff happens (throughout) the game," Clarkson said. "We're not going to back down from guys. We're out here playing hard and stuff happens."

Dragic left the locker room before reporters arrived. Dragic finished with 16 points and Clarkson scored only four.

Miami's James Johnson, who had to be restrained from charging the Lakers' bench after the initial skirmish, was issued a technical foul.

The Lakers blew the game open early in the fourth quarter. After a three-point play by Dion Waiters cut the Lakers' lead to 97-89, Los Angeles answered with a 12-1 spurt for a 109-90 advantage after a 3-point jumper by Williams with 7:16 left. Miami never recovered.

"The incident was big," said Reed, who hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor and also recorded three blocks. "We lost (Dragic) and we just didn't get stops down the stretch. They pretty much scored at-will."

The Lakers led 58-56 at the break. The Lakers outshot the Heat 48.9 percent to 44.9 percent in the first half. Both teams had trouble converting 3-pointers before intermission, with Los Angeles managing 4 of 15 attempts (26.7 percent) to 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) for Miami.

The Lakers made 50 percent of their shots from the field for the game compared with 41.3 percent for Miami. From 3-point range, the Lakers connected on 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) to 8 of 32 (25 percent) for the Heat.

"They just had more than us tonight," James Johnson said.

NOTES: In his previous five games, Heat reserve G Tyler Johnson was averaging 17.2 points, four rebounds, four assists and shooting 49.2 percent. ... Los Angeles id 3-6 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... Miami is 2-19 when trailing at halftime before the Lakers' game. ... With F Luol Deng missing Thursday's game at Portland, no Laker has started every game this season. The team has fielded 13 different starting lineups. The Heat also haven't had a player start every game. Miami has penciled in 15 different lineups. ... Both clubs resume play Sunday at Staples Center. The Heat play the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening game. The Lakers face the Orlando Magic in the nightcap.
Top Game Performances
 
Miami   L.A. Lakers
Willie Reed 22 Scoring Lou Williams 24
Goran Dragic 3 Assists D'Angelo Russell 5
Willie Reed 12 Rebounds Luol Deng 14
Derrick Williams 4 Free Throws Made Brandon Ingram 5
James Johnson 2 Steals D'Angelo Russell 3
Willie Reed 3 Blocks Tarik Black 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Miami 100 41.3 8-32 16-27 17 41 7 5 10
L.A. Lakers 127 50.0 10-28 21-29 22 62 2 6 13
Upcoming Games
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Orlando. The Lakers have a W/L % of .231 after a win and .407 after a loss.
  • Miami will play their next game on the road against LA Clippers. The Heat have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .296 after a loss.