Having lost three games in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to again be in danger of going into a true downward spiral. They faced the Miami Heat on Wednesday, and even without disgruntled star Jimmy Butler, the Heat posed a formidable challenge.

The first half of this contest looked like the first half of the 134-93 rout Miami had against the Lakers back on Dec. 4. Miami seemingly couldn’t miss, as it hit 58.3% of its field-goal attempts and went 10-of-18 from 3-point range to take a 66-54 halftime lead. Tyler Herro, who had nine 3-pointers on Dec. 4, again killed the Lakers by hitting each of his first seven shots and going 5-of-5 from downtown in the first half.

But the Lakers chipped away at that deficit and entered the fourth quarter down 85-83. Miami threw a zone defense at them, and they eventually figured it out by getting the basketball into the middle of it and getting better looks. They finally took the lead early in the final quarter and never looked back en route to a much-needed 117-108 victory.

Los Angeles turned the tide in this game with its defense. It held the Heat to just 42 points in the second half and was active in terms of disrupting them and forcing miscues. The Heat ended up with 19 turnovers, which turned into 23 points off turnovers for L.A., and LeBron James and crew also had a 60-36 advantage in points in the paint.

The team will next face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, which means going up against former Laker D’Angelo Russell, who was traded to the Nets on Dec. 29 along with Maxwell Lewis and multiple second-round draft picks for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton.

Anthony Davis: B/B-plus

Davis was aggressive early with 12 first-half points, and overall, he took 21 shots, which showed a level of initiative, especially when the Lakers were down. While he only attempted two free throws, he ended up with 22 points by making 10 of his field-goal attempts, and he also had 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Defensively, he held Bam Adebayo, the three-time Heat All-Star who came into this game averaging 16.1 points a game, to 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting in 31 minutes.

Rui Hachimura: A

Hachimura had an excellent first half with 12 points, and he never let up the rest of the way. He finished with 23 points, and while he went 2-of-5 from 3-point range, the most impressive aspect of his performance on Wednesday was the fact that his other seven baskets came at or near the rim. As he has at times this season, he did a good job of roaming the baseline, allowing him to spring open in order to find the seams in Miami’s defense.

He also had eight rebounds, which helped the Lakers do a good job on their defensive boards. While they got outrebounded by three, they only gave up three offensive rebounds and limited the Heat to six second-chance points.

Austin Reaves: A

Reaves rebounded from some rough games lately to shoot 5-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown, giving him 14 points. He did a good job of attacking off the dribble, and his mid-range shot was falling tonight.

But his biggest contribution was his 14 assists, which was his second-highest total in the category this season and the sixth time in the last nine games he has had at least 10 dimes. Six of his assists came in the fourth quarter when Los Angeles outscored Miami 34-23 and took control of the game.

Defensively, Reaves helped out with three steals, and he also contributed three rebounds in 35 minutes.

Max Christie: B-minus/B

Christie took the assignment of guarding Herro in this game. Herro scored 22 points in the first half, but he was held to 12 points in the second half. Christie did help harass Herro enough to force the Heat star into seven turnovers, which was one more turnover than the entire Lakers team had on the night.

Offensively, Christie went 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line to score 16 points. He’s continuing to develop into the type of 3-and-D wing the Lakers have desperately needed for the last few years.

LeBron James: B-plus

James’ stat line — 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds — was modest by his standards, but he played with plenty of energy tonight. He looked to attack and create pace often enough, and he even made a nice effort defensively, which resulted in two steals.

He hit nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and half of his six 3-point attempts, and nine of his points came in the fourth quarter when Los Angeles truly put its imprint on this game.

Gabe Vincent: A

Vincent gave the Lakers a major lift off the bench. He hit six of his nine shot attempts and went 2-of-5 from deep to score 14 points in 26 minutes, and half of his points were scored in the fourth quarter when he helped bust Miami’s zone defense.

He also added four assists without any turnovers and had one rebound, one steal and one block. This is the type of play the Lakers need from Vincent more often than not if they are to climb the Western Conference standings in the coming weeks.

Jaxson Hayes: C

In 14 minutes, Hayes went 2-of-3 from the floor to score four points while adding one rebound and one steal.

Shake Milton: F

Milton played for the first time since Jan. 5 versus the Houston Rockets, but he didn’t make any impact. He missed both of his shot attempts and went scoreless, and he made no contribution on the stat sheet. At one point in the second quarter, he committed an ill-advised foul on Duncan Robinson when Robinson attempted a 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, which helped inflate Miami’s halftime lead.

Dalton Knecht: D

Knecht’s confidence seems to be at a nadir right now. He missed all four of his shot attempts, all of which came from beyond the 3-point line, and at times, he hesitated to shoot the ball from distance. His only points came on two free throws near the end of the third quarter, and his only contributions were two rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes.