In the NBA, coming close is never enough. The Miami Heat suffered the same frustrating fate against the Lakers tonight. They didn’t lead once throughout the game, but remained at a distance to strike. Ultimately, the fight wasn’t enough. Some Miami Heat players speaking off the loss attributed it to feeling dejected with their early mistakes.

However, there was also a subtle dig at the NBA officials. Notably, Bam Adebayo, the team captain, said after the game, “I guess we got a little frustrated with the foul calls, but you know that’s part of the game now,”. For the Lakers, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves baited Heat players into committing fouls. Clearly, they didn’t feel there was ample for the whistle to go their way so often.

But they also took accountability. Reaves and Luka Doncic have the ability to draw contact. Jamie Jaquez Jr. acknowledged that they felt “discouraged” when guarding the tandem. Both of them attempted 17 free throws, the Slovenian himself going to the charity stripe 12 times. Yet, the whistle wasn’t lopsided. As the Lakers announcer pointed out, there was a physical theme to this game. “Can’t call them every time. I like it when they let them go,” he said after officials didn’t call an offensive foul against the Heat.

Speaking on the matter, only four Laker players attempted free throws. The Heat were also awarded 13 more free throws than the Lakers throughout the game. Hence, the officiating didn’t fail Vice City throughout the game. Both sides found a consistent whistle, with the Miami Heat having a steep advantage to close the game.

Things went wrong in trying to curb the Lakers’ offense. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves combined for 21 assists, putting together a near-flawless Laker offense. The Heat are traditionally recognized for their defensive intensity. That was simply absent today.

Erik Spoelstra calls for defensive improvements

Spoelstra didn’t take long to spot the Heat’s first mistake against the Lakers. “Started off, you know, with a mistake to a wide-open three to start the game uh deflating,” he said after the game. That was part of a first half where the Heat leaked 77 points. The Lakers led by as much as 18 in the second quarter, their most during the game. Their defensive integrity was all over the place, until the third quarter.

But a 12-minute spell of defense was never going to be enough. Bam Adebayo felt the team didn’t communicate enough and played far below their level. Considering they held Wemby to shooting under 50% just a few nights ago, the Heat’s defense is elite. But they couldn’t show that against the Lakers.

“Really boiled down to a lack of effort uh on on plays that we’re accustomed to to doing and making um and or um mindless uh plays either fouls or just, you know, things that we haven’t been doing. Um, so you do have to credit them. Uh, you know, but we’re much better defensively than we showed tonight. That’s probably what’s really frustrating,” coach Spo added.

Offensively, they managed to do great things. The Heat scored 120 points in the loss, a mark they have consistently managed to reach. And generally, the defense follows suit. However, tonight was one of those rare nights where emotions got the better of them. It’s still early in the season, but such reckless mistakes can come back to bite in crucial moments.

The good thing is, the team knows where they went wrong. And with a strong group of veterans on their roster, the Heat will look to respond with urgency to such a loss.