Heat vs. Lakers: Video Highlights, Twitter Reaction and Grades

Did we just witness a preview of the NBA Finals?

The Los Angeles Lakers came out throwing haymakers early and often, before clinging to a 93-83 victory over the Miami Heat.

Led by an 18-point first quarter by Kobe Bryant a.k.a. "The Masked Mamba," the Lakers built a comfortable 50-38 lead at the half. But in the third quarter the Heat began to utilize LeBron James in the post to claw their way back into it.

In the end, a total team effort by the Lake Show proved to be too much for Miami to overcome.

Aside from issues at point guard (what a shocker), every player who logged major minutes on the Lakers made a strong contribution. Andrew Bynum provided superb interior defense with four blocks in addition to 16 points and 13 rebounds. Pau Gasol served as an emotional leader, barking at LeBron on multiple occasions. Even Metta World Peace scored 17.

As for the Heat, they can use the Chris Bosh excuse. He missed his fifth game has he copes with the loss of his grandmother and the difference was evident in the paint. The Lakers outrebounded the Heat 44-35 and were the more physical team in the paint.  

For all of the jokes fans like to make at Bosh’s expense, there is no doubt he is an essential piece of a championship puzzle for Miami.

Video Highlights:

The pregame buzz had nothing to do with the actual game, it was all about the odd man purse LeBron was sporting.

In a game defined by physicality in the paint, leave it to LeBron to provide us with the one jaw-dropping dunk of the afternoon.

Kobe may not be able to throw down a jam like that anymore, but he's as crafty as ever with his pump fakes. Here's a perfect example over Wade in the first quarter.

The Heat have one of the best transition games in the NBA. Early in the first quarter, a Joel Anthony block set up one of the quickest fast breaks you'll ever see.

Twitter Reaction:

The consensus among experts was that Wade didn’t bring his “A” game on Sunday. Fouling out with 5:14 left in the fourth was incredibly rare. Wade had two offensive fouls in a row and picked up a couple of cheap ones in loose-ball situations. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has a strong fun fact on a rare Wade foul-out:

"

Wade just fouled out, 4 in 4Q, first Heat player to foul out in 89 games. Not the best effort today from Wade.

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) March 4, 2012"

The always sarcastic Bill Walton parody compares Wade to a former fouling machine:

"

Dwyane Wade picks up 4 fouls in 5 minutes. I didn't get the memo that he transformed into Rick Mahorn overnight.

— The Bill Walton Trip (@NotBillWalton) March 4, 2012"

He goes on to hit home the point that Bosh is indeed an essential part of the Heat:

"

That awkward moment when the Heat have a worse record playing without Chris Bosh than playing without LeBron or DWade. Uh. What?

— The Bill Walton Trip (@NotBillWalton) March 4, 2012"

The lack of offense for Miami was incredibly unusual. They are second in the league in scoring at 103.7 points per game, making the 83 points scored their second-lowest output of the season.

ESPN’s J.A. Adande points out that of the four games Miami has failed to score 90 this season, two of them have been in Los Angeles:

"

Looks like this will be only the 4th time Heat don't score 90 this season. Twice in Staples Center.

— J.A. Adande (@jadande) March 4, 2012"

But enough about the losing team. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated sums up the impressive team performance of the Lakers:

"

Nice mixture from Lake-Show, who win 93-83 on backs of Kobe, Bynum, Metta. LeBron didn't have much help today. Lakers won 8 of 10.

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) March 4, 2012"

Windhorst talks about why the Lakers were so effective on defense:

"

With his defense at the rim, Andrew Bynum appears to have effectively gotten into Heat's heads. He's playing excellent, Lakers up 11.

— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) March 4, 2012"

Grades

Kobe Bryant: A

All of the pregame hype about retaliation was nonsense.

In typical business-like fashion, Bryant poured in 33 on 14-of-23 shooting while grabbing three rebounds. With the Heat within striking distance in the fourth, it was Kobe that was hitting daggers to ensure victory.

You could tell Bryant took this game personally. That’s always a scary sight for the opponent.

Andrew Bynum: A+

On top of his four blocks and ferocious defensive effort, he added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

If he continues to keep up this effort, the Lakers would be insane to trade him for Dwight Howard.

Metta World Peace: B+

World Peace filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. He is beginning to figure out how Mike Brown wants him to be involved in the offense. This is an improbable development after watching him look completely lost for the first part of the season.

LeBron James: B-

Sure 25/13/7 is pretty, but he missed all four of his three-point attempts and shot an uncharacteristic 12-of-26 from the floor.

He was highly successful in the post but didn’t stick with it, something that has been an issue his entire career. Kobe was clearly the better player on this day.

Dwyane Wade: D

On top of all of the stupid fouls, he turned the ball over five times and missed 10 shots. Was he thinking about what Kobe might do to retaliate? Or was it just a bad game?

Unless these two teams meet in the NBA Finals, we won’t know the answer.

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