Miami Brings on the Heat Against L.A.

Kobe Bryant started 4/4 from the field and it looked like he would score the Lakers to a ninth straight win. However, Bryant went 4/17 for the remainder of the game. Not only did this factor in to the Laker's loss, several turnovers, numerous defensive breakdowns, and a few silly mistakes down the stretch ultimately helped the Heat win.

But the Miami Heat deserve some credit for this 94-88 victory. Chris Bosh played well in the paint and on the boards, Lebron James nearly had a triple-double, and Dwyane Wade was much in the clutch. Also, the Heat shot 42% from behind the three-point line.

The Lakers seemed to be in control in the first half but the Heat went on a few spurts by hitting timely threes to take the lead into halftime. The Heat then had the crowd in the game in the second half and used momentum to spark the team.

Lebron ended the third with a buzzer beater, along with the first quarter, and Mike Bibby came in off the bench to nail a few jumpers. With the game tied at 88, Dwyane Wade stole the ball from Kobe and passed the ball up court to Lebron for a one-handed slam. The Heat got a stop and Wade drove past Kobe and Pau Gasol for a layup, making the score 92-88.

With forty seconds on the clock, Kobe loses the ball out of bounds, but Wade subsequently dribbles the ball off his leg on the ensuing possession. With twenty seconds to go, Kobe takes a stupid deep three which clanks off the rim. The Lakers foul Lebron, who hits both his free throws to close out the game.

The Lakers bench did not show up. No player shot the ball efficiently except for Pau Gasol and Kobe really hurt the team by taking too many shots. The Heat end the five game losing streak and clinch a playoff berth. The Lakers wore the "Los Lakers" uniforms and the Heat wore "El Heat" jerseys in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month on Noche Latina.

Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade 20 pts 5 asts 5 rebs 4 stls 1 blk

Highlight of the Game: Ron Artest stole the ball from D-Wade, dribbled up the floor, faked the layup as Mike Bibby went for the block, and laid it off to Kobe for the soft layup off the glass.

Next Game: @ Dallas Mavericks

This is crucial in the Western Conference standings as the Mavs are the 2 seed and Lakers behind them by 1.5 games.