Tyler Herro Leads Eight Miami Heat Players In Double-Figures In Win Against Lakers
The Miami Heat picked up their 20th win of the season Wednesday night after defeating the Lakers 110-96 at the Crypto.com Arena.
Coach Erik Spoelstra made the decision to use an eight-man rotation prior to a garbage time bench dump with 39 seconds remaining. The decision to play with a short bench may have seemed odd due to Miami's current health concerns.
The Heat hadn't played with just eight players since an early December loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The decision proved a smart one, as all players scored double-digit points. Tyler Herro led the team with 21 points while rookie added 16 points in his second straight return to his hometown area. He grew up outside of Los Angeles.
Second-year forward Nikola Jovic and center Bam Adebayo each finished with 15 points. Jovic made three 3-pointers.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 16 points and Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo scored 15 apiece as all eight Miami players who saw action scored in double figures. Kevin Love had a season-high 14 rebounds along with 10 points.
Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson both provided sparks off the bench. Love recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson scored 11 of his 13 points in a 38-point fourth quarter that helped seal the victory. After missing four games with a back injury, Josh Richardson made his return by contributing 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
"He’s ignitable. He sees one go and I think that's where it changed for him,” Spoelstra said of Robinson. “We ended up basically running our offense through him and Bam on the catch and shoot off ball movements in the fourth quarter because of that.”
Spreading the wealth is nothing new to this squad. Miami has seven players averaging double-figures on the season. Love's (9.7 ppg) and Kyle Lowry (9.3) aren't too far off.
The Heat face the Phoenix Suns Friday.
Casey Fahrer is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at caseyfahrer716@gmail.com
