We might have thought the NBA final was as good as over, but the Miami Heat, led by Jimmy Butler, would never let it go without first having a fight.
Without Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, Miami could keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis at 40 points together and hold back a Los Angeles outfit that lagged a little but never looked anything other than second best.
The 115-104 win brings the heat back to the series; Erik Spoelsta’s men are now losing 1-2 as the fifth semen surprise continues to do just that – surprise.
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Los Angeles started under full control of the series on Monday (AEDT) and started slowly as it hit 10 sales in just a quarter – more than in Game 2.
Davis struggled with nasty problems the entire game and never found a rhythm. James struggled with sales – responsible for eight of the 19 in Los Angeles – when Butler came out on top for both teams.
“You’re in trouble,” Butler said as he increased the Heat by nine points, less than two minutes ahead.
Butler was aggressive but smiled from the start. The 31-year-old, who finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 points, supported an achievement that underscored his importance to this unit in Miami.
“Winning,” Butler said of his mindset. “I don’t care about a triple-double, none of it is important to me. I really don’t.
“I want to win. We did that. I’m happy with the result.”
Butler added, “I think we realized we belong. You can be beaten[en] as long as we’re doing what we’re supposed to do.
“I know they’ll come in the next game [the Lakers] It gets so much better and we have to be able to reach that energy. “
Spoelsta put it simply: “How do you say it other than ‘Jimmy Fing Butler’?
“But that’s what he wanted, that’s what we wanted. But it’s really hard to analyze or describe Jimmy until you actually feel him between the four lines. He’s a formidable elite competitor and we needed him. “
Miami led in the first quarter with 13 points, in the third quarter even with 14 points, but had to hold back the Lakers, who could only bring up short jumps of basketball with which they were two games ahead.
Kelly Olynyk was special for Miami adding 17 points while three starters – Tyler Herro (17 points), Duncan Robinson (13) and Jae Crowder (12) – all posted double digits.
James finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists when Davis only managed 15 points.
Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma both had 19 points off the bench, but Los Angeles couldn’t get enough of their star duo.
“Both,” James said when asked if it was frustration or the situation that made him run off the pitch 10 seconds before the game was over.
“We know we can’t turn the ball against this team,” said James of the team’s fighting.
“… I take full responsibility for it.”
Game 4 will be played on Wednesday October 7th (AEDT).
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