NBA Finals -- Miami Heat look for momentum push in Game 6
By Ryan Gallardo
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 11 Oct 2020
PORTLAND -- Down 3-1 and given up for dead, the Miami Heat have risen back to life with a stirring 111-108 win over the Los Angleles Lakers in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals on Saturday at Lake Buena Vista in Orlando.
The thrilling victory, which came only after 16 lead changes and seven ties, allowed the resilient Heat to trim their deficit to 3-2. They now have the golden chance to even this series in tomorrow's Game 6 and forge a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday.
Such a salivating scenario wouldn't have been possible without Jimmy Butler, who engineered another triple-double, this time for 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assets.
"That's our leader Jimmy Butler. That's our max player and that's who we go to in these moments," Heat center Bam Adebayo told the Associated Press.
But as great as Butler was, he needed all the help he could get. And he teammates were happy to oblige.
Adebayo, still rounding back to form after missing time with a neck strain, posted 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. Duncan Robinson swished six triples and ended up with 26 points. Tyler Herro and Jae Crowder added a combined 23 while Kendrick Nunn came off the bench with 14.
"We got two more to get," said an exhausted Butler, who logged in 47-plus minutes, wreaking havoc on both ends of the floor.
The Lakers, meanwhile, could only look back on their missed opportunities.
"It just didn't go in," said LeBron James of teammate Danny Green's missed wide open 3 that could have given the Lakers a two-point lead with just 7.1 seconds to go. Markieff Morris grabbed the offensive rebound off Green's miss but he turned the ball over in the final 2.2 seconds where Miami's Herro's canned two free throws that sealed the Lakers' fate.
Even in defeat, LeBron, who is seeking his fourth NBA title, was spectacular. King James accounted for 40 points on 15 of 21 shooting from the field. He also had 13 rebounds and seven assists.
James' sidekick, fellow All-Star Anthony Davis, added 28 points and 12 rebounds but he sustained a "re-aggravated" right heel contusion and was visibly hampered in the fourth quarter, especially in the final Lakers possession where he declined to go after Morris' errant lob.
If Davis isn't 100 percent in Game 6, the Lakers could be in a world of trouble.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ryan Gallardo.
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