The NBA’s leading scorer scored 60 points for the second time in his career as the Lakers defeated the Heat in Miami.
Published March 20, 2026
Luka Doncic scored 60 points, the most ever against the Heat, as the Los Angeles Lakers won their eighth straight game, defeating the Miami Heat 134-126 on the road on Thursday night.
James Harden scored 58 points against Miami. He reached that goal on February 28, 2019, when he was a member of the Houston Rockets.
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LeBron James also recorded a triple-double for the Lakers (45-25) with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. This was James’ second triple-double of the season, but he definitely has fond memories of his time in Miami, where he led the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals (2011-2014) and two NBA titles.
This may have been the last game in Miami for the 41-year-old James, who has not yet announced his future playing plans.
Doncic entered the day leading the NBA in scoring with a 32.9 average, making 18 of 30 shots from the floor, 9 of 17 from 3-point range and 15 of 19 from the free throw line. He also had 7 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists.
Doncic has scored 100 points the past two nights.
Bam Adebayo led Miami (38-32) with 28 points and 10 rebounds. He missed the game against Miami because of a strained right calf, but he appeared to be fully healthy.
However, the Heat are just 1-3 since Adebayo scored 83 points, the second-highest score in NBA history, against Washington on March 10.
For Miami, Tyler Herro scored 21 points and Norman Powell added 20 points.
The Heat were without two key players due to injury: Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left hip strain) and Andrew Wiggins (left big toe). These two players average a combined 30.9 points.
Miami led 42-29 at the end of the first quarter, during which the Heat shot 63.0 percent and led 26-12 in points in the paint. Los Angeles shot just 40.9 percent from the field despite Doncic scoring 12 points.
Los Angeles made 12 of 20 shots from the floor in the second quarter, narrowing the lead to 65-59 at halftime. Miami shot just 40.9 percent.
With 9:05 left in the third inning, Doncic made three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game at 72-71. By the end of the period, the Lakers led 97-88.
Doncic scored 19 points in the third. Miami missed on 10 of 12 attempts from behind the arc in the quarter.
The Lakers finished the game without any major problems in the fourth quarter and defeated Miami for the third time in a row.
