NBA: Jimmy Butler keeps Heat’s hopes alive
Butler scored 35 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists and the Heat withstood a 40-point performance from Lakers superstar LeBron James to deny Los Angeles a title-clinching win
Orlando: Jimmy Butler’s triple-double propelled Miami to a 111-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday that kept the Heat alive in the NBA Finals.
Butler scored 35 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists and the Heat withstood a 40-point performance from Lakers superstar LeBron James to deny Los Angeles a title-clinching win in the NBA’s quarantine bubble at Orlando.
The Lakers still lead the best-of-seven series three games to two and can secure the title with a game-six victory on Sunday. Game seven, if needed, will be on Tuesday.
“We’ve got two more to get,” said Butler, who played more than 47 minutes and delivered a stunning display of will and skill. “We just played hard, and just stayed with it,” said Butler, who has insisted the Heat can become just the second NBA team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the championship series.
The only other team to do it was the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers against Golden State in 2016. “We got where we wanted to on offense, shared the ball like we always do,” Butler said. “This is a game of runs — I think we withstood theirs.” Butler drained two free throws with 16.8 seconds left to put Miami up by one.
James, stymied under the basket, found Danny Green for a wide-open three-pointer with 7.1 seconds remaining but Green missed and Tyler Herro added two more free throws to seal it. “We got a hell of a look to win the game, to win the series,” James said. “Didn’t go down.”
On a night that saw the Heat lead much of the way, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s three-pointer with 6:18 remaining put the Lakers up 97-96 — their first lead since the first quarter.
But the Heat dug in, Duncan Robinson’s three-pointer putting Miami back up, 101-99 with 3:16 remaining, and it was a heavyweight slugfest the rest of the way, the lead changing hands seven more times.
Duncan Robinson added 26 points for Miami. Kendrick Nunn had 14, Bam Adebayo 13, Herro 12 and Jae Crowder 11. James added 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers.
Anthony Davis added 28 points and Caldwell-Pope scored 16. The frantic finish was foreshadowed by a first quarter that saw eight lead changes.
The tension was palpable when Los Angeles center Dwight Howard tangled with Butler and the two had to be separated less than five minutes into the contest, each receiving a technical foul.
The Lakers got an early injury scare when Davis, battling Andre Iguodala for a rebound late in the first quarter, took an awkward hop and limped off the court.
