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Miami Heat win 115-104 and reduce NBA final handicap to 2-1
A “stratospheric” display by Jimmy Butler on Sunday allowed the underserved Miami Heat to sensationally beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-104 and cut the deficit in the final of the North American Basketball League (NBA) to 2-1.
Without the company of Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic and post Bam Adebayo, for the second game in a row, Butler took over the team and, with a display for the “legend,” reduced LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company to “nothing.”
In 44.51 minutes that were a hymn to bravery, intelligence and what it means to be a leader, all with an inexhaustible capacity for resistance, Butler dominated the game, always appearing at the best level when the team threatened to give in to him. greater adversary power.
At the end of the day, the “22” of the Heat closed the game with 40 points, with 70% in the field of “shots” (14 of 20) and 85.7% in free throws (12 and 14) , 13 assists and 11 rebounds. , without forgetting a huge defense work. There was no need to throw a “triple.”
“Winning. I don’t want to know about ‘double-doubles’. I don’t want to know anything about it, I really don’t want to. I want to win and that’s what we did. I’m happy about that,” said Butler, only the third player in history. achieving a “triple double” with 40 points in a final, behind Jerry West and LeBron James.
In an uneven fight with the Lakers, in the absence of Dragic and Adebayo, some Heat players followed the leader, specifically substitute Kelly Olynyk, who left the bench to add 17 points and seven rebounds in 31.20 minutes.
Although they weren’t always right, since together they made only 15 of 42 shots, Tyler Herro (17 points), Duncan Robinson (13) and Jae Crowder (12) also made important contributions to Erik Spoelstra’s “five.”
On Frank Vogel’s set, who must still be trying to understand what happened, how he could lose what would never be reversed 3-0, the best was LeBron James, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but also committed eight “turnovers” and did not do well in the decisive moments.
Substitutes Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma, both with 19 points, also had positive performances, unlike Anthony Davis, who finished 15th, with just nine shots from the field (scored six), and the rest of the team.
Once again without Dragic and Adebayo, the Miami Heat came in motivated, determined and dominated the first half of the game, reaching a lead of 13 points (22-9), 4.16 minutes from the end of the first period.
The Lakers, with substitutes Kuzma and Morris in their sights, nevertheless managed to respond: they closed the initial period with just three points and, at the beginning of the second, completed the return (33-37), with an aggregate partial from 28-11. .
The game seemed to move along the lines of the previous ones, but then Butler (19 points, with eight on 12 “shots” in the field, six rebounds and six assists in the first half) took the lead and the scoreboard turned again (58 -54, at halftime).
After deficits of 17 and 14 points in the middle of the first two games, the Heat went ahead to the second half and re-entered “big”, with a 10-0 run, which marked the difference of shooting to 14 points (68- 54).
The Lakers responded with 8-0, reducing to six points (68-62), but, again, Butler appeared to reassure the team and return it to the lead in the ten (83-71), with only 2.10 minutes to go. play in the third period.
Then, the Lakers had their best phase: with a 20-6 split, topped by two “triples” by Morris and two points by Rondo, they returned to the front (89-91) with 8.55 minutes to go.
It seemed that, finally, the Heat no longer had energy, but, once again, the “tireless” Butler appeared: in the 7.42 minutes that followed, he scored 10 points and made three assists, in a 20-9 run that “finished”. with the game (109-100).
There were 1.13 minutes left to play and the “miracle” had come true. The Miami team, without two of the top three players, managed to beat the Lakers the day Butler put on a show for the “finals” legend.
The NBA final continues on Tuesday, again in the Orlando “bubble,” and Dragic and Adebayo’s chances of returning are unknown.
I play at the AdventHealt Arena at the ESPN Complex in Orlando.
Miami Heat – Los Angeles Lakers, 115-104 (1-2).
In the range: 58-54.
Under the arbitration of the Trony Brothers, Scott Foster and Pat Fraher, the teams lined up and scored:
– Miami Heat: Tyler Herro (17), Duncan Robinson (13), Jimmy Butler (40), Jae Crowder (12) and Meyers Leonard (7). They also played Andre Iguodala (2), Kelly Olynyk (17), Kendrick Nunn (4), Solomon Hill (3) and Derrick Jones Jr.
Coach: Erik Spoelstra.
– Los Angeles Lakers: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5), Danny Green (2), LeBron James (25), Anthony Davis (15) and Dwight Howard (4). Rajon Rondo (4), Kyle Kuzma (19), Markieff Morris (19), Alex Caruso (8) and JR Smith (3) also played.
Coach: Frank Vogel.
Scoreboard: 26-23 (first period), 58-54 (interval), 85-80 (third period) and 115-104 (final result).
Attendance: Game played behind closed doors due to the covid-19 pandemic.
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