Los Angeles plays Miami after James’ 43-point performance
Miami Heat (19-18, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (16-21, 12th in the Western Conference)
Los Angeles; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles hosts the Miami Heat after LeBron James scored 43 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
The Lakers have gone 8-8 at home. Los Angeles is 5-19 against opponents with a winning record.
The Heat are 9-10 on the road. Miami is 5-5 in games decided by 10 or more points.
The two teams square off for the second time this season. The Heat defeated the Lakers 112-98 in their last matchup on Dec. 29. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, and James led the Lakers with 27 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: James is scoring 29.0 points per game with 8.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Lakers. Anthony Davis is averaging 13.2 points over the past 10 games for Los Angeles.
Tyler Herro is shooting 45.2% and averaging 21.4 points for the Heat. Max Strus is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Miami.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 5-5, averaging 119.2 points, 44.0 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.5 points per game.
Heat: 7-3, averaging 110.0 points, 39.0 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 10.2 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.8 points.
INJURIES: Lakers: Lonnie Walker IV: day to day (tailbone), Russell Westbrook: day to day (foot), Anthony Davis: out (foot).
Heat: Nikola Jovic: out (back), Omer Yurtseven: out (ankle), Dewayne Dedmon: out (health and safety protocols).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
