The Lakers picked a good time for a winning streak over Heat

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – The first 10 meetings between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat were basically the same. The Lakers won them all, eight of the 10 by double digits.

The Lakers have not had such a sustained streak of success against the Heat thus far.

When the NBA Finals resume at Walt Disney World with Game 3 on Sunday night (Monday Manila time), the Lakers will attempt to beat the Heat for the seventh time in a row. The Lakers have not lost to Miami since a 92-91 decision on March 16, 2018.

The Lakers are 4-0 against Miami so far this season, three of four wins by at least 10 points.

Miami’s best hitting streak against the Lakers was a seven-game winning streak from January 17, 2013 to November 10, 2015.

The Lakers now lead the all-time series among clubs, 39-27. And the team that has LeBron James on the roster has won 10 straight games in the series.

PHOTO: AP

FROM DEEP

Going into these playoffs, the most three-point attempts the Lakers had attempted in a postseason game was 32, in 2010 against Phoenix.

That is now tied for ninth in team history.

The long-range assault in the league these days also includes Los Angeles, where the Lakers broke a franchise record for 3-point attempts in an NBA Finals game by attempting 38 in Game One, then broke it. one more time trying 47 in Game Two.

The 47 3-point attempts are the most in any Lakers game.

“We’re going to keep encouraging our guys to take those shots,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said. “If it is open, it should not doubt whether to shoot all three or not, regardless of whether it is 0 of 10 or 0 of whatever. He wants me to keep shooting because we know those shots are going to fall in love with us.

Davis said the Heat “want you to shoot triple,” and he’s apparently right. The Lakers’ 47 3-pointers were the most the Heat have seen attempted against them in a playoff game, breaking the record of 46 set last Sunday by Boston when Miami closed out the Eastern Conference finals.

Miami has allowed teams to hit more than 36 triples in a playoff game eight times in franchise history, all this year.

PHOTO: AP

DYNAMIC DUO

LeBron James scored 33 points and Anthony Davis 32 in Game 2, marking the 14th time the Lakers teammates had at least 32 points in the same NBA Finals game.

Elgin Baylor and Jerry West did it eight times. West and Wilt Chamberlain did it once, as did Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes duos Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and George Mikan and Vern Mikkelsen.

Davis had 14 rebounds and James had nine on Friday. Add that to the parameters: teammates with at least 32 points and nine rebounds in a final game, and the list gets a lot shorter. Johnson and Wilkes did so on May 16, 1980; Mikan and Mikkelsen did it on April 20, 1952. That’s it.

Before Friday, there was only one other instance in the last 40 years of teammates with at least 32 points and nine rebounds in the same game: Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant did it for Golden State on June 4, 2017.

SO CLOSE

LeBron James has 27 career playoff triple-doubles, including a record 10 in NBA Finals games.

It could be many more.

Friday was the fiftieth time in James’ playoff career that he scored at least 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a game, meaning the second game was the 23rd time in which he missed a triple-double for exactly one assist, one rebound, or both. .

Of those “almost”, eight have reached the NBA Finals.

UPLOAD THE CARDS

Miami rookie Tyler Herro has as many as 278 points so far in the playoffs. On Friday he passed Donovan Mitchell (268) and Jerry West (275) for eighth place in a postseason by a rookie.

With at least two games to play this season, Herro could enter the top five or better.

He is 15 points behind No. 7 Magic Johnson, 21 points behind No. 6 Wilt Chamberlain and 23 points behind No. 5 Jack Sikma.

“Everything the team needs me to do, I try to do the best I can,” Herro said. “Obviously, I can always be better.”

The rest of the rookie playoff scorers list: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the way with 352 points, Jayson Tatum had 351, Alvan Adams had 341 and Elgin Baylor had 331. The Heat almost certainly will have to win at least one and possibly more games in this series for Herro to have enough time to make a serious run in the rookie postseason record.

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