The Heat finally defeat a Contender

After showing much promise last season, a lot of people expected the Miami Heat to make a big move during the offseason. That big move never came to be. As the new season approached, it was expected of the Heat to be just as good, or not as good, as they were the season before. But, they surprised the entire league when they got off to a 6-1 start. Their only loss during that stretch came when they slipped against the Phoenix Suns, but they could have won that game.

However, as the season progressed, the Heat lost close games against the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Celtics. Those losses must have gotten into the head of the Heat players. Before long, they were also losing to teams like the Raptors and the Bobcats. These losses, which could have easily been wins placed the Miami Heat in a tough situation heading into last night's game against the Lakers. The last time that the teams played, Kobe Bryant buried a buzzer-beating three pointer that gave Los Angeles a one-point win.

With that memory fresh in the minds of Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal, they came into their most-recent meeting with the Lakers as tough as they could. For most of the game, the Heat led, but late the Lakers came charging back, much like their meeting on December 4. Just like in the first meeting, the last shot in regulation was taken by Kobe Bryant, but unlike in the last meeting, it was only good enough to force overtime. In the overtime session, Carlos Arroyo held the team down. Miami escaped their most-recent home game with a close 114-111 victory over the Lakers. This win was important on many different levels. Against the top teams in the league, Miami had a combined record of 3-8. They had two early wins against the Magic, but those wins could never spark a run.

But, when their backs were against the wall, Miami lost in overtime to Boston after Dwyane Wade seemingly hit the game-winning shot. If that was not the case, they gave up in the fourth quarters to Boston, fell by one at home to Cleveland and got blown out bad on the road. Early on, the Heat played with the same confidence that it showed during the Shaquille O'Neal era. But, after their first loss to the Cavs, the team lost its stride and could not regain it. The loss to the Lakers only did more to ruin the confidence of the team and the injury to Dwyane Wade in the middle of their five-game win streak did little to help. Had Wade remained in the lineup, the Heat probably could have kept the streak going.

While their confidence has taken a lot of blows, this win over the Lakers may do something to lift them just for a little while.