MIAMI >> The Lakers proved they can play well enough with an injury-depleted roster. They have not proven they can play well enough to protect double-digit leads.
So, the Lakers’ 115-107 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday at American Airlines Arena does not just trace to the team suddenly missing Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. or Tarik Black at power forward. It also stemmed from the Lakers’ coughing up a 19-point lead for the second consecutive game.
“We play better when we give up leads,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “We start fighting and scrapping. Maybe instead of playing good enough in the first half, we start off slow in the first half and maybe we’ll come out in the second half with a little more fight in us and be able to win some of these games.