The Lakers were buried in a barrage of Miami threes in a blowout loss

MIAMI – Rui Hachimura stopped. Anthony Davis stood up. Tyler Herro has moved. Tyler Herro scored a goal.

After badly embarrassing one game offensively in Minnesota, the Lakers were crushed in the next game in Miami – their body language, their lack of energy and, worst of all, their general lack of willingness to fight – all causes for serious concern .

After winning six straight games, the Lakers gave Orlando a miss at the free throw line. They were embarrassed in the second half against Denver, outclassed by Phoenix, overwhelmed by Oklahoma City and completely destroyed at Minnesota.

And yet somehow they were never worse than on Wednesday. They looked too old. Too unskilled. Too undisciplined. Too dubious.

The Heat defeated the Lakers 134-93, a new low in a season in which losses are quickly piling up. Miami (10-10) made 24 three-pointers, the third-most ever allowed by a Lakers team.

They have lost six of their last eight games by an average of more than 21 points.

“I’m embarrassed; It’s embarrassing for all of us. It’s not a game where I thought we had the right fight and the right professionalism. I’m not sure what got lost in translation,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

“There has to be some ownership on the pitch and I will take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I lead it and I’m embarrassed. But I can’t organize us physically. I physically can’t play basketball. I cannot physically speak and call (switch) and physically call covers.

“I don’t blame the players. … This is mine, but I also need some ownership on the field.”

Redick was wandering helplessly on the sideline, using up all his temper tantrums. Herro made seven three-pointers in a row at one point in the third quarter, heating up faster than a microwave. Every loose ball went to Miami. Every rebound went to the Heat. Any ounce of momentum has evaded the Lakers, who have now lost five of their last six games by an average of more than 20 points.

“I’m ashamed of the Lakers,” Magic Johnson posted on X during the game.

LeBron James, who was in dire slump down the stretch, found his touch and led the Lakers with 29 points. But everyone else, including Davis, disappeared.

In one of his worst games as a Laker, Davis scored just eight points on three of 14 shots and was regularly beaten off the dribble by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. He had just seven rebounds and five assists, the Lakers (12-10) were unable to solve Miami double-teams and Davis looked like a player with no answers.

“I hate losing,” Davis said. “The way we lose, we play badly, exhausted. I don’t play well individually. It’s an accumulation of things and it’s frustrating. You want to play well. And of course it helps the team and our boys when I play well. And I don’t play well. It’s pretty tough for our team. And we just have a lot of breakdowns defensively. And it’s up to us. To be honest, it’s up to us players.

“We get the plans. The plans are on point. But we just have to go out and do it and execute them.”

Lakers forward Anthony Davis (left) defends against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo in the second half on Wednesday.

(Marta Lavandier/Associated Press)

The Lakers, still without Austin Reaves because of a lower back bruise, were only slightly better on offense than defense on Wednesday.

The team shot just 22.7% from three and 43% from the field. Without James and Hachimura, the Lakers were just 19 for 62 (30.6%).

Redick said the Lakers are a team that doesn’t seem “together” right now – which was easy to see as numerous players on the court had animated conversations with each other and with the bench after their defensive possessions were badly lost.

“We are currently having problems with game plans at a grassroots level on both sides. It’s strange. It’s very strange,” Redick said. “…You can’t make real adjustments if you can’t do basic coverage.”

Over the last eight games, the Lakers are ranked 28th in offense and 27th in defense. They end their four-game trip on Friday in Atlanta.

“Everyone in this locker room hates losing. I know everyone in this locker room is trying to do the right thing,” Davis said.

“We don’t go out and try to screw up a coverage or fail, miss a shot or fail to make a play. We will make mistakes. It happens in a game. But we have to limit these mistakes. We have so many on both ends of the floor and that doesn’t help us. So we have to do everything we can to win on Friday.

“But I have the utmost confidence in this group and this coaching staff. But as I said, personally I think it starts with myself. When I play better, the boys play better.”