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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – LeBron James woke up from his game day nap on Tuesday and decided it was time to send a message to his fellow Los Angeles Lakers.
He grabbed his phone and told the Lakers they were facing a game that he had to win.
“I felt that vibe. I felt that pressure, ”James said. “I felt that, for me personally, this was one of the most important games of my career.”
Message sent.
James and the Lakers are back in control of these National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, one win from the franchise’s 17th championship. James finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Anthony Davis’ 3-pointer with 39.5 seconds left finally settled things and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 102-96 in Game 4.
The Lakers lead 3-1 and can win the title when the series resumes on Friday.
“I play big. Great moment, ”James said of Davis’s 3-pointer. “Not just for AD, but for our baseball club and for our franchise.”
Davis finished with 22 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 and Danny Green added 10 for the Lakers, who were not left behind at any point in the final 20 minutes. The Lakers are now 56-0 this season when they lead the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler scored 22 points for Miami, who got 21 from Tyler Herro, 17 from Duncan Robinson and 15 from Bam Adebayo, who returned after missing two games with a neck injury.
“I loved watching our guys compete. I love how they respond between those four lines, ”said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “This was a throwback game and there were some moments of truth there at the end, and probably the bottom line is that they won those moments of truth.”
He is right. Whenever Miami had something going, the Lakers would shut it down.
James’ 3-pointer with 8:18 to play in the third put the Lakers up 55-54 and set the tone for the rest of the night; LA leading, Miami chasing.
“As I always say, they are a very, very, very good team and we have to play almost perfect to beat them,” Butler said. “We didn’t do that tonight…. We will see this, we will learn from him, but we cannot lose another. “
The Lakers were up by seven with 2:27 to play in the third after Davis’ 3-pointer; Miami scored the next six to get to one. Herro made an early 3 in the fourth to put Miami inside one again; the Heat quickly fouled Markieff Morris on a 3-point attempt, and he made all three shots.
Butler scored inside to tie the game with 6:27 left; James scored the next five points himself, including a three-point play in which he ended up on his back after spinning the ball perfectly off the glass to score on a drive while making contact.
“You have to recognize the competitive spirit of our guys,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “They were flying and competing at an extremely high level at that end of the court.”
A bounce here, a bounce there. Those were the differences in the end, and the Lakers made their own breakups.
Butler had a 3 corner kick that would have given Miami the edge with 3:05 left; Caldwell-Pope made a 3 corner at the other end seven seconds later and the Lakers were up 93-88. Miami then delivered the ball in a shot clock violation; Caldwell-Pope scored on a drive for a seven-point lead.
James said the job is not done. But he knows the Lakers are on the brink.
“I love what we did tonight,” James said. AP
