Gardner (coach's decision) went unused off the bench Thursday in the Heat's 134-126 loss to the Lakers.
Gardner had appeared in each of the Heat's previous six games, but after a three-game run as a starter, he had been a fringe part of the rotation while moving to the bench for the latter three contests. Though Miami was without Jaime Jaquez (hip) and Andrew Wiggins (toe) on Thursday, the return of Bam Adebayo (calf) was enough to bump Gardner out of the rotation entirely.