The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 120-117 in overtime (OT) at Staples Center on Wednesday, claiming their second straight win.

The purple and gold lacked LeBron James, Talen Horton-Tucker, Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn in this rematch of the 2020 Finals. But the Heat were not much better off. Markieff Morris sat in this game due to neck injury. Jimmy Butler sprained his ankle in the first quarter and never returned to the floor. Bam Adebayo was healthy but committed three fouls in the first half, spending most of the time sitting on the bench in the first two quarters.

In a way, the two sides were well matched for the incompleteness of their squads on Wednesday.

Many also saw this game as a contest for Sixth Man of the Year because Carmelo Anthony of the Lakers and Tyler Herro have been the best candidates for the award thanks to their incredible performance so far off the bench.

Herro was the winner of this competition as he went 11-22 in field goals (FGs) and 5-8 in triples to get 27 points, four rebounds and three assists. When Butler was asked who takes over the offensive duties from him, he gave the name of the 21-year-old, No. 13 selection of the 2019 NBA Draft.

Herro proved his team leader right, at least during regulation time. Having drained five 3-pointers on six attempts, he was the biggest nightmare for the Lakers' defense. He could have been the Heat's hero if he hadn't missed all three shots in OT.

"The second shot was a great look. I can make that nine times out of 10. It is what it is, and we move on," Herro said after the game.

But at least Herro was playing a positive role during most of his time on the floor, unlike Duncan Robinson, who not only missed 10 shots from downtown, but also remained a defensive liability. Moreover, he had the chance to cut the Lakers' lead from four to one at the free throw line with 51 seconds remaining in OT, but Robinson only made one of his three free throws.

Compared with Herro and Robinson, Adebayo had much more mixed night. On one hand, when he was able to play on the court, he caused a lot of trouble for the Lakers on both offense and defense. He was not the green rookie who was torn apart by Anthony Davis two years ago in the series. The two had equal shares on Wednesday night: Adebayo shot 9-20 from the floor and 10-11 from the free throw line for 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals; Davis went 10-23 in FGs and made one 3-pointer to get 24 points, 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and four assists.

Nonetheless, Adebayo was called for two consecutive offensive fouls in the fourth quarter before he committed his last foul on Davis in OT and was sent away. His absence, both during regulation time and OT, left a huge vacuum in the Heat's paint that no one could fill, not P.J. Tucker, Dewayne Dedmon or the 41-year-old Udonis Haslem.

Wednesday's win was probably more valuable to the Lakers than it was to the Heat because the purple and gold beat a tough rival without James, despite all the ridiculous mistakes they made.

Malik Monk was the Lakers' biggest and most surprising contributor to their victory. He was 10-13 in FGs for a team-high 27 points plus six rebounds and three assists. He (4-7), Avery Bradley (5-8) and Wayne Ellington (4-6) made sure that the Lakers had perimeter firepower to turn to for offensive contributions while Davis had to face smothering trapping inside.

"I had this role a couple of times in Charlotte when a lot of guys got hurt," Monk said. "I had to come in, play big minutes and facilitate and do all the things I normally don't do. I work on my game a lot, so I was really prepared for this moment."

This was not the best-performing night by Davis, but neither was he in his best form. The Heat had no match for him in size, but Davis was not comfortable facing Adebayo one-on-one, not to mention the aggressive double-teaming. When he was the Lakers' only big man on the floor, it was a perfect picture of what "being unable to attend everything at once" means defensively.

Russell Westbrook again made Laker fans both love him and hate him. He had a triple-double of 25 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. He even drained three triples, delivered two blocks, and scored executive points at the end of the fourth quarter. However, Westbrook also committed eight turnovers, including one pass that hit Davis right in the head. His shooting choices in the last moments of Q4 almost cost the Lakers this game.

"After that Portland loss, we took that personally," Davis said. "These last two games have definitely been fun. Guys are starting to realize how good of a team we are, and we just have to take that mindset to the floor."

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Washington Wizards 97-94 Cleveland Cavaliers

Brooklyn Nets 123-90 Orlando Magic

Milwaukee Bucks 112-100 New York Knicks

Detroit Pistons 112-104 Houston Rockets

Dallas Mavericks 107-117 Chicago Bulls

Charlotte Hornets 118-108 Memphis Grizzlies

Oklahoma City Thunder 108-100 New Orleans Pelicans

Sacramento Kings 117-136 San Antonio Spurs

Indiana Pacers 98-101 Denver Nuggets

Portland Trail Blazers 109-119 Phoenix Suns

Minnesota Timberwolves 110-123 Golden State Warriors