MIAMI (AP) – The Miami Heat knew the run was coming. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, with a 23-point lead, the Heat players told themselves that the game was not over yet.
They were right. And they overcame the Moment – and then moved to the Eastern Conference.
Jimmy Butler broke LeBron James’ record for Triple-Doubles in a Miami uniform, Duncan Robinson scored 25 points and the heat held off a furious Los Angeles Lakers comeback attempt on the way to a 113-107 victory Sunday night.
“I think these are important experiences that we have to have together,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The win, combined with losses to Brooklyn and Chicago, moved Miami (30-17) to the top of the East, a half-game ahead of the Nets (29-17) and a game ahead of the Bulls (28-17).
Butler finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for Miami, his 10th regular-season triple-Double for the heat – one more than James had in his four seasons in Miami.
Miami led 89-70 in the fourth, pushing the lead to 23 with 8:38 left, then had to push back, which became a 32-13 Los Angeles run that had the Lakers up in the final four moments.
“To have those kind of crucial moments on the track, you can never get enough of it,” Robinson said. “They are invaluable.”
Caleb Martin scored 15, Bam Adebayo scored 14 and Gabe Vincent had 11 for Miami, which squandered most of a 26-point first-half lead.
James carried the Lakers once again, finishing with 33 points – his 17th straight game with at least 26 – and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 24 goals for the Lakers, former Heat guard Avery Bradley added 15 and Carmelo Anthony scored 11.
“I’m rude in one of the best areas I’ve been in my career,” James said.
The heat were still without Kyle Lowry (personal matter) and Tyler Herro (health and safety protocols). It was the fourth straight missed game for Lowry, the third for Herro.
The Lakers were without Anthony Davis for a 17th straight game, as he continued recovery from a sprained ligaments in his left knee. Davis was ruled questionable for Sunday, which increased the chances he could finally return, but the Lakers decided he needed at least a few more days.
“He’s getting closer… but not quite there yet,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
The loss sent the Lakers to 23-24 — the first time since James’ rookie season that he was on a team with such a deep losing record in a season.
Miami came out flying, opened up a double-digit lead just 5:12 into the game, went up 32-14 on a 3-pointer by P.J. Tucker with 3:36 left in the first quarter and took a 39-25 lead in the second after Max Strus hit the clock with a high 3-pointer off James’ outstretched arm.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 26 in the first half, their biggest halftime deficit of the season, before James made the muscle work just before the break. He scored the Lakers’ final six points of the second quarter, posing after a double team for one of those baskets and got Los Angeles within 69-52 until the Break.
“We just had a few too many glitches and they made us pay for everything,” Vogel said.
Then came the attempted Rally. James grabbed an rude rebound and scored with 1:07 left to get the Lakers within 111-107, then got a layup on the next heat possession — but Bradley fouled Tucker on a moving screen with 37.7 seconds left for an expensive turnover.
Talen Horton-Tucker had another turnover on an inbound pass with the Lakers down four with seven seconds left, and Miami would survive.
“In the fourth quarter, we played the kind of basketball we wanted to play, but we dug ourselves into a hole too much early in the game,” James said.
