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Jimmy Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals as the Miami Heat avoided elimination with a 111-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.
Duncan Robinson scored 26 points, helping the Heat close their best-of-seven series deficit at 3-2.
Kendrick Nunn contributed 14 points, Bam Adebayo contributed 13 and Tyler Herro had 12 points and Jae Crowder scored 11.
Jimmy Butler attacks the basket in Miami’s Game 5 win over the Lakers
LeBron James had 40 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Lakers. Anthony Davis finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 points.
Game 6 takes place in the early hours of Monday morning (12.30am, live on Sky Sports Arena) and Game 7, if necessary, would be played in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Two free throws by James with 2:52 remaining tied the score at 101. A jump shot by Butler put Miami up by two, but James’ three-point play with 1:34 left gave the Lakers an advantage. of a point.
Butler scored again for a one-point lead from the Heat with 1:13 to go, but James’ bucket allowed the Lakers to take a 106-105 lead with 58.2 seconds left.
1:37
Two free-kicks by Butler gave Miami a 107-106 lead with 46.7 seconds remaining, but Los Angeles took a 108-107 lead with 21.8 seconds left on a rebound from Davis.
Butler made two free throws with 16.8 seconds left, giving Miami the lead for good. Danny Green missed an open triple. Los Angeles claimed the offensive rebound, but Markieff Morris’s ball returned the ball to Miami.
Herro’s two free kicks with 1.6 seconds put the Heat up by three, and James’ desperation at the buzzer was misplaced.
An 11-3 run to open the second gave Miami a 36-27 lead after a jump shot from Nunn less than three minutes into the quarter.
LeBron James pictured during the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ Game 5 loss to the Heat
The Heat were up 50-39 after another bucket from Nunn, but the Lakers rallied 8-0 to cut the margin to three after Kuzma’s layup with 2:04 left in the fourth.
Butler’s 22 points in the first half led the Heat to a 60-56 lead at halftime. James had 21 points at halftime.
The Lakers freaked out when Davis fell with a right heel injury with less than a minute left in the first quarter. However, he returned in the second quarter.
Watch a full replay of Heat @ Lakers Game 5 at Sky Sports Arena Saturday at 9am
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