With the unfortunate events from their previous game already behind them, the Miami Heat will try to bounce back when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The Heat not only lost big on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets, 113-96, but they were also involved in a scuffle. Markieff Morris elbowed Nikola Jokic's side which then resulted in Jokic retaliating with a hard shove on the back of Morris. The Heat forward was visibly hurt after the altercation and left the game with an apparent neck injury.
Morris was ejected after being assessed a flagrant foul 2, while Jokic was also sent out of the game. Jimmy Butler was issued a technical foul for trying to heighten the situation further. A day later, the NBA issued a one-game suspension for Jokic, a $50,000 fine for Morris, and an additional $30,000 fine for Butler.
The Heat have lost two of their last three games after starting the season at 6-1. They rose to the top of the East standings following the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Butler and company are in the midst of a five-game road trip and would probably want nothing more than to put the Denver game in the rearview mirror and focus their attention on getting more victories.
The Lakers, meanwhile, continue to try to navigate the young season without their main star LeBron James. The 19-year veteran remains unavailable because of an abdominal injury.
Fortunately for Los Angeles, Carmelo Anthony has been nothing short of a revelation for them. The experienced forward is turning back the clock and putting up numbers equivalent to his superstar days all while coming off the bench.
Anthony is fresh off a 29-point barrage, highlighted by seven treys, to help the Lakers in a 126-123 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets. He is currently averaging 17.6 points, making 3.5 triples while shooting 52.0 percent from deep.
It wasn't too long ago that the Heat and the Lakers were in the middle of an intense Finals matchup back in 2020. In the very next season, following an extremely short break, the two teams were never able to repeat their success from the bubble. Both teams clawed their way to the playoffs before being quickly eliminated. The two squads have made significant changes this past offseason and will look to once again make a deep playoff run.
The Heat take on the Lakers, 10:00 AM on NBA TV Philippines via the new Smart GigaPlay app or Cignal TV.
