Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat (Lakers lead 2-0)
The Heat have been without two of their biggest contributors, C Bam Adebayo and G Goran Dragic, and the Lakers had steamrolled over them in the first two games. Game three was set up to be more of the same before G Jimmy Butler turned in one of the best NBA Finals performances ever. He reminded everyone the Heat earned their spot.
The Heat took down the mighty Lakers in game three with a score of 115-104. Mostly on the shoulders of their leader, Jimmy Butler. The Lakers had no answer for Butler (40PTS 11REB 13AST 2STL 2BLK 5TO 45MIN), who nearly played the entire game. He knew his team needed everything he had to keep the Lakers from taking the 3-0 lead. Butler only sat three minutes, and it will be interesting to see if it ends up taking a toll on Butler as they head into game four.
Butler did have more support compared to the first two games. The assistance Butler received from his teammates, Jae Crowder 12PTS, Duncan Robinson 13PTS, Tyler Herro 17PTS, and Kelly Olynyk 17PTS, is something that had been missing. The Heat should continue to bring the same balanced scoring if they want any chance to beat the Lakers again.
Lakers’ star F Anthony Davis (15PTS 5REB 3AST 2STL 5TO 33MIN) got into foul trouble early in the game. This broke their flow for this game. Getting Davis to have a bad game is the key to beating the Lakers this season. If Davis has a bad game, the Lakers tend to lose. F LeBron James (25PTS 10REB 8AST 2BLK 8TO 39MIN) had a solid game but the Heat severely shut him down in the second half. James had the most turnovers for the Lakers, and as a team, they committed 19 overall.
The Lakers are still up 2-1, but this loss was huge. Now the Heat have some confidence heading into game four, especially with reinforcements on their way. C Bam Adebayo is rumored to be coming back for the crucial game.