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LeBron James entered the lane, looking to take another step toward an NBA title.
Instead, he took too many steps.
James received a whistle for traveling, ending a possession that could have given the Los Angeles Lakers a lead in the fourth quarter.
A couple of minutes later, he did it again.
At the time of the game in which he usually turns, James delivered him on Sunday (Monday in Manila), part of a sloppy performance by the Lakers in a 115-104 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Finals NBA. .
“It wasn’t about effort, it was just about execution,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
The Lakers, who left the court early because of Anthony Davis’ first-quarter foul problem, squandered an opportunity to take a 3-0 lead that has never been lost in NBA playoff history.
They never got control of Jimmy Butler or the basketball in Game 3. Los Angeles committed 20 turnovers that led to Miami’s 21 points, with James committing eight of them, the game’s most.
“Just silly losses,” said Davis, who had four in his limited period of the first quarter.
“Offensive fouls, lack of communication in some passes, but we have to be better in general. I mean, we’ll be fine. “
Davis took just nine shots and finished with 15 points, less than half of his performances in the first two games, when he scored 34 and 32.
“You have to be able to adapt and adapt,” Vogel said of Davis’ foul problems. “It probably had a small factor in our offensive pace, but we have to be better overall at both ends.”
James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but the NBA’s assist leader’s turnovers contributed to the Lakers never having sustained momentum.
“You can’t turn the ball over against that team,” James said, “and I take full responsibility for that.”
They fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter, even with James interrupting his usual opening break because Davis had to go to the bench with a pair of quick fouls.
The Lakers stayed behind most of the way until early in the fourth quarter. But Miami definitely recovered after James’ first trip and Butler would not return to Los Angeles, finishing with 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
James and Davis had been adding numbers like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant during the first two games of the series. With Miami shorthanded, the only intrigue seemed to be which of the two Lakers superstars would win the NBA Finals MVP award.
Now there is much more intrigue than that.
But the Lakers never lost again after their losses in each of the previous three rounds, ending each series in five games. They can still do that now.
James said the Lakers aren’t worried because they know they can play a lot better, adding that this team learns quickly from its mistakes.
He promised to reduce the ones he did.
“I’ll be a lot better with ball safety and turnovers and things of that nature,” James said, “and we as a team will be a lot better defensively with our game plan.”
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