Reeling Lakers share blame after 41-point loss to Heat

MIAMI – When Heat guard Tyler Herro went nuclear, hitting seven straight 3-pointers in the third quarter of a 134-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, it dawned on LA coach JJ Redick just how lost his team has become .

“We’re having issues right now on both ends with, like, basic-level game-plan stuff,” Redick said after the Lakers lost for the sixth time in their last eight games. “It’s strange. It’s very strange.”

Odder still is how a team that was 10-4 just two weeks ago, with a chance to make it 11-4 if it just hit some late free throws against the Orlando Magic, is suddenly in freefall and losing six games with an average of 21.8 points.

“It’s got to be some ownership,” Redick said. “You can splinter and it’s easy not to want ownership, especially when it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. We’re all embarrassed. It’s not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism .”

Redick added, “There’s got to be some ownership on the field and I’m going to take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I’m leading it and I’m embarrassed. But I can’t physically get us organized. I can’t physically be to basketball. I can’t physically call this out, but also want some ownership on the court … There’s not a feeling from me that we’re together right now.”

LeBron James bounced back from a shooting slump and scored 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range to snap a streak of 20 straight missed 3s. But he didn’t argue with Redick’s remarks.

“I agree with everything JJ said,” James said, making it clear he didn’t want to come off as independent of the first-year coach. “Whatever he said, I agree 100 percent, 1,000 percent.”

However, James absolved Redick of his role in Wednesday’s debacle, saying, “It’s not on the coaches. It’s definitely on us.”

The Lakers were outrebounded 52-36 as Miami made a franchise record for 3s in a regular season game by going 24-for-47, including 9-for-16 from Herro, who finished with 31 points. Meanwhile, the Lakers went 5-for-22 (22.7%) from deep.

Anthony Davis, who not long ago was considered an early-season MVP candidate, volunteered the lion’s share of the blame after scoring a season-high eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. This after Davis had previously set his season low with 12 points on Monday, going 4-for-14 from the field in a 29-point loss to Minnesota.

“I have the utmost confidence in this group and this coaching staff,” Davis said. “Personally, I just think it starts with me. If I play better, the guys play better. I definitely take responsibility, especially the last few games. Just not being there for the team on the offensive end.”

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent had nine points and three steals off the bench, but was still part of a Lakers second unit that was outscored 51-28 by Miami’s reserves. He characterized his team’s mood as “crazy”.

“I definitely think we’re a long way from where we want to be and where we expect to be at this time of year,” Vincent said.

James, who is the oldest player in the NBA and turns 40 on Dec. 30, preached patience, even as he admitted, “It’s definitely a bummer to have your ass pooped like that twice in a row.”

Moving forward, he urged the Lakers to “keep their cool” and added, “I’ve been in this game way too long. Never get too high, never get too low. Because I know how fast it turns. .”

Davis aimed for the turnaround to begin when the Lakers finish their four-game road trip Friday against an Atlanta Hawks team riding a five-game winning streak.

“Just have to find a way, to be honest,” Davis said. “Find a way in Atlanta to get dub.”