Heat Open a Five-Game West Coast Trip Monday Night at the Lakers
Miami rides back-to-back wins — and a 145-125 NBA Cup rout of Indiana — into Crypto.com Arena on Monday at 10 p.m. Eastern, two weeks after an 0-4 start had the season on the edge.
MIAMI — The Miami Heat open a five-game West Coast trip on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena, with tip-off at 10 p.m. Eastern. The trip is the Heat's first long road run of the season, and it starts from a better place than the standings alone suggest: Miami is 2-4, but the two wins are its last two games, back to back after an 0-4 start.
The second of them was Friday night's NBA Cup opener at home, a 145-125 win over the short-handed Indiana Pacers. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points with his second triple-double of the season, Bam Adebayo added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and Klay Thompson had his best game since joining Miami — 25 points and seven 3-pointers. The Heat outscored Indiana 67-46 across the middle two quarters after trailing by six after the first, and the win was Miami's first at home this season and put the Heat at 1-0 in NBA Cup East Group B play.
Monday's test is the trip itself as much as the Lakers: five games on the West Coast, starting late — a 10 p.m. Eastern tip — against a Los Angeles team playing at home. The Sports Desk files the final after the game, and the trip's remaining stops follow through the week.
