The Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 115 - 107, at American Airlines Arena on Thursday. Even though Miami trailed by 19 at times in the second quarter, they rallied to pull out a much needed win. The third and fourth quarters is when Miami did their damage, as they outscored Los Angeles. 62 - 47 in that stretch. The Heat's offense was efficient as ever, as they shot 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from three - point range. Rebounding and assists were lopsided as well, as Miami won the rebounding, 47 - 40 and the assist differential, 25 - 18. The Heat's first lead did not come until there was a minute left in the third quarter. Los Angeles (11 - 21) is in their worst stretch of the season right now and they continue to falter against bad teams. Lou Williams was once again the best player for the Lakers, as he dropped 27 points off the bench. Nick Young led the starters in scoring, as he scored 20 points on 7 - of - 14 shooting. D'Angelo Russell had his bets game in weeks, accumulating 17 points, four rebounds and seven assists. On deck for Los Angeles is a road matchup against the Orlando Magic on Friday. Miami (10 - 20) have been playing better than results would show, so a win here is just what the doctor ordered. Justise Winslow was the Heat's most valuable player, as he accrued 23 points, 13 rebounds and four steals in 42 minutes of action. Hassan Whiteside matched Winslow, as he provided 23 points and 13 rebounds of his own. Goran Dragic was the only other starter in double figures, as he collected 21 points and seven assists. James Johnson continued his great form, leading the bench with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Heat return to action on Friday, as they play the New Orleans Pelicans on the road.
["TeamStat(G,'Heat') has 25 Number of team assists ,has 50 Percentage of 3 points ,has 54 Percentage of field goals ,has 20 Losses ,has 115 Total points ,has 47 Points in 4th quarter ,has 10 Rebounds ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Lakers') has 18 Number of team assists ,has 21 Percentage of 3 points ,has 107 Percentage of field goals ,has 27 Losses ,has 40 Total points ,has 11 Points in 4th quarter ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nick Young') has 14 Assists ,has 7 Field goals attempted ,has 20 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'D'Angelo Russell') has 7 Assists ,has 17 Field goals attempted ,has 4 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Lou Williams') has 27 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Justise Winslow') has 42 Assists ,has 23 Field goals attempted ,has 13 Field goals made ,has 4 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Hassan Whiteside') has 23 Assists ,has 13 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Goran Dragic') has 7 Assists ,has 21 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Johnson') has 6 Assists ,has 19 Field goals attempted ,has 8 Field goals made ."]