The Los Angeles Lakers battled in another close game on the second night of a back to back, this time against the Miami Heat, and came up short, 100-94.

After playing the Charlotte Hornets the night before, the Lakers seemed pretty energized against the Heat, as they came out firing early. The Lakers grabbed an 11-4 lead, but the Heat called a timeout and countered with a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead.

From there on, the game was tightly contested, with both teams going back and forth. The Lakers bench has been a constant for them all year long, and the second unit came through for L.A. in the second quarter.

Jeremy Lin, who has been terrific since coming out of the All-Star break, was the catalyst for the Lakers in the first half. He put in five points and six assists off the bench in the half to carry his team to a five-point lead.

As always, the Lakers came out flat in the third quarter. That has been a reoccurring theme for them since the beginning of the season. All of a sudden, Miami owned a 10-point lead with three minutes left in the third.

Thankfully, just like against Charlotte, the Lakers weathered the storm. Ryan Kelly completed a four-point play, while Wayne Ellington and Lin hit crucial jumpers to cut the deficit to three heading to the fourth.

In the final period, the Lakers bench was at it again, led by Jeremy Lin. Los Angeles’ bench scored 51 points, which was more than half the team’s score. Miami’s bench just had 19 points. Lin notched 12 points, nine assists, and four steals in 29 minutes, but it was not enough.

After the Lakers took an 84-80 lead, Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside were inserted back into the game, and the two singlehandedly dominated the latter half of the fourth stanza.

Wade posted 25 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Meanwhile, Whiteside had yet another monstrous night, putting up 18 points, 25 rebounds, and four blocks. The 25 rebounds were a new career high and his fourth 20-plus rebounding game this season.

Late in the game, the Lakers were down by three and gave the ball to rookie Jordan Clarkson who put up a straight away three and missed. Whiteside grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit one of two from the line, and the Lakers had possession of the ball again, down four. However, they missed multiple shots with under 10 seconds remaining, and Whiteside snatched another board and got fouled. This time he sunk both free throws and sealed the victory for his team.

Whiteside has been superb and is in the running for the Most Improved Player award. He was a huge steal for the Heat when they signed him on November 24, 2014. The young big man has been a force with his rebounding and shot blocking abilities. In this game, Whiteside was the game changer midway through the third when he came away with three blocks and a handful of rebounds to ignite his team and bring some energy in the building.

This was a crucial win for the Heat who is looking to hang on to the seventh seed in the East. With the win, they improved to 27-33 to pull a game ahead of the ninth seeded Indiana Pacers.

The Lakers, who dropped to 16-44, were led by a balanced attack. Ed Davis recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Ellington also scored 14, while Jordan Hill produced 13 points and 10 rebounds. Carlos Boozer was benched in the fourth quarter once again, but he scored an efficient 13 points in 19 minutes. As mentioned, Lin had 12 points, and Johnson added 12 of his own off the pine.

The Lakers were out-rebounded 55-42, much thanks to Whiteside. Newly acquired Goran Dragic pushed in 21 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Luol Deng posted 15 points and six rebounds.

The Heat has another important game coming up on Friday, March 6th, against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. The Lakers will head to Memphis to take on the grit-and-grind Grizzlies at the FedExForum on Friday.