JJ Redick did it Wednesday morning, reminding his Lakers of the importance of connectivity and communication.

He told them again in the arena that his team was about to face the Miami Heat and their leading scorer, Tyler Herro, who was in the midst of a dominant run.

And it just didn’t last.

Herro, just like when the Heat knocked off the Lakers in Miami, was too open, too often, firing shot after shot through the net — the kind of stretch that recently led his coach to compare him to Stephen Curry . The Lakers lost on defense. It made them lifeless on offense.

They were clearly behind at halftime.

So on Wednesday, for at least the third time, Redick told his players what he needed from them. They had to talk about defense. They had to defend together. And if they didn’t, they would almost certainly suffer their fourth straight defeat.

“We haven’t changed anything schematically,” he said. “I begged our team to talk more and play harder.”

And finally it dawned on me.

“It was exactly the message we needed,” guard Austin Reaves said. “And I think the most important thing is that it got through to the group.”

The Lakers pushed forward on defense, diving for loose balls and forcing turnovers. They shared the ball on offense against Miami’s zone and broke it down with precise cuts and quick passes. And when it came time to close out the Heat, the Lakers relied on LeBron James to give them the finishing touches for a 117-108 victory, their first since January 3rd.

As the team was in the third quarter, Anthony Davis dived for a loose ball. Reaves sparked a fast break. Rui Hachimura attacked the field and James hit a wide-open three-pointer – the kind of play that showed Redick that all the emphasis he’d been making all day had taken hold.

“I challenged the team across the board at our leadership meeting today,” he said. “And leadership – people are thinking about talking, being vocal of course, talking in small groups, whatever it may be. This is certainly a form of leadership. But leadership comes in many forms. And I think speaking is a requirement for being a basketball player. Talking is a requirement for the job.

“But leadership can be about playing hard defensively. Leadership can be a burden. Leadership can be about taking care of the basketball. It’s about leadership and responsibility for what you’re supposed to do. That’s your job. For me that is leadership. And that to me is a great example of AD leadership – being the first to get on the field in a close game. It’s a decisive game for us.”

The Lakers outscored Miami 63-42 in the second half after being outscored by San Antonio in the third and fourth quarters on Monday night.

Wednesday’s win was a sign of growth in many ways. The Lakers took responsibility for the things they didn’t do, got balanced performances from multiple players, and won because they didn’t ignore the little things.

Hachimura led the Lakers with 23 points. James, who scored seven straight points over the period, had 22 and nine assists. Davis finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Max Christie scored 16 and Reaves had 14 points, 14 assists and three steals.

“Whether we’re up or down, we can’t be leaders,” Davis said. “And when we’re up there, we’re connected. Even when we’re feeling bad, we need to be best connected. I think tonight, even in the second quarter when they made that run, we were still able to connect. We came into halftime, made adjustments, stayed together and were able to go out and get stops in the second half.”

Gabe Vincent wowed the Lakers with 14 points against his former team and Jaxson Hayes had his best game since returning from an ankle injury on January 2nd.

And while Redick’s message may have gotten through Wednesday, it was the players’ performance against the Heat that gave the Lakers (21-17) the win they desperately needed.

“There is power in group and connection,” Redick said. “And every single basketball game, a lot of things go wrong and you have to stay connected. And I thought we did a fantastic job tonight.

“All of our coaches did a great job. But tonight it was our players. I have to give them credit. They stayed on course. They stayed connected. They showed determination. Tonight it was them.”