It was the most anticipated match of the NBA season – but the outcome was far from expected. The Miami Heat beat the LA Lakers 96-80 in a Christmas match-up taking place at Staples Center. There were many stars in attendance from LA, but unfortunately for Phil Jackson, they were actors sitting courtside and not his players on the Lakers.

Miami Heat Rout Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant had poor matches, while Lebron James had an efficient 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Chris Bosh was as effective as ever and 24 and 13, outscoring Gasol and Brynum combined.

Dwyane Wade was reported to be carying injuries heading into the game, but there was no sign of it with the 1 time NBA champion agressive on both sides of the floor.

Lakers vs Heat Christmas Day

Kobe blasted his team mates in a post game conference – telling them that they need to be more professional and ‘show up to work’. The Lakers had lost their last game at Staples by a big margin to the Milwaukee Bucks, and signs of Kobe’s patience waning were foreshadowed with his two technicals getting himself thrown out of the game.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant exchanged some nasty words trash-talking late on in the game, and the Heat got their most impressive victory of the season after being accused of only beating bad teams.

The Lakers have been awoken, and the roots of an intriguing finals match-up have been seeded.