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LeBron James finally got an easy Game 1 in the NBA Finals.
A very easy one, too.
Anthony Davis scored 34 points, James had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists and the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Miami Heat 116-98 on Wednesday night.
“The bigger the moment, he just gets his game better,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Davis, who was making his debut in the final and made it look easy.
The Heat came out beaten and battered. Point guard Goran Dragic left in the second quarter and a person with knowledge of the situation said he was diagnosed with a plantar fascia tear in his left foot that obviously compromises his availability for the rest of the finals. And All-Star center Bam Adebayo left in the third quarter after seemingly aggravating a left shoulder strain.
“We are much better than what we showed tonight,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “You have to give the Lakers credit, and we’ll get to work for the next one.”
Game 2 is Friday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13 points, Danny Green had 11 and Alex Caruso finished with 10 for the Lakers. They returned to the final for the first time in a decade and sent a very clear message. James’ teams had been 1-8 in Game 1 of previous finals, with losses in each of the last seven opening games.
This not.
“We picked it up at both ends of the floor,” Davis said.
Jimmy Butler fought off a sprained left ankle to score 23 points for Miami. Kendrick Nunn scored 18 points for the Heat, Tyler Herro had 14 and Jae Crowder 12.
“Me, and we, are here for him,” Butler said of Dragic. “We know how much he wants to earn, how much he wants to go to war and fight with us. And obviously, we love him for it and we want him with us. But whatever the doctors tell you to do, that’s what you have to do. … You have to take care of yourself first. “
Adebayo held to eight points in 21 minutes, and Miami went with the substitutes for a fourth-quarter blast that turned an all-out win only slightly more palatable in terms of final margin.
The Lakers did what they wanted. They outscored Miami 54-36, led by as many as 32 points, and made 15 3-pointers, a great number for a team that doesn’t necessarily count on racking up that many points from beyond the arc. They are 21-3 this season when they make at least 14 triples.
The only stage that gave Miami hope came in the first six minutes. The Heat scored on six straight possessions in what became a 13-0 run to take a 23-10 lead midway through the opening period.
So the first six minutes were good for Miami.
Everything else was all Lakers.
“You have to have an idea of how tough Miami plays,” James said. “They hit us in the mouth and we felt it. … From that moment, when we were 23-10, we started to play with our abilities. “
The simplest way to summarize what happened for the rest of the first half is as follows: Lakers 55, Heat 25. The Lakers entered Game 1 at 21st of the 22 teams that spent time in the bubble from the range of three points, which is only 33.6% of his attempts from deep within Disney. They were the only team in the postseason to have two games shooting less than 25% on 3s.
Maybe they were due. The Lakers went 9 of 11 on 3s in the final 16 minutes of the first half. Of the nine Lakers who played in the first two quarters, eight attempted a triple and all eight made at least one.
They closed the first quarter on a 19-3 streak. Herro tripled from an acute angle for a 43-41 lead at Miami with 7:33 left at the half, and then the Lakers took off again, this time in a 24-5 flurry to go into halftime with a 65- 48 lead.
The Lakers started the third with another run, this 18-3, and the win was officially underway.
“You can learn a lot more from a win than a loss,” James said. “I can’t wait until tomorrow for us to get back together, watch the movie, and see ways to improve.”
