Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. The NBA Finals is here!
Jimmy Butler had yet another spectacular game and denied the Lakers of winning the title in Game 5.
A lot of people thought that Friday night was going to be the crowning of a new NBA champion.
Well, the Miami Heat had a lot to say about that.
The Lakers received a scare early as Anthony Davis injured his foot. A lot of us thought it might have been an Achilles injury but he reaggravated a heel contusion. He would stay in the game.
With nothing going on, the Lakers turned to LeBron James. He’s kind of used to that sort of thing.
As for the Heat, we were on our way to another supernova Jimmy Butler game, which seems to be NEEDED for a Heat win. Also, Kendrick Nunn finally had a game reminiscent of the pre-pandemic regular season. But even though the Heat led by 11 in the second quarter, we got the expected Laker run. Still, Jimmy beat the half’s buzzer with a three-pointer. That would be a huge one.
Duncan Robinson would have a huge third quarter as he scored 10 points, including a 4-point play, to hold off the Lakers. The Heat would blow the lead back up to 11. But once again, they’re the Lakers. They scored 8 straight points to cut the deficit to three. Later on, a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope three gave L.A. the lead.
The teams would go back and forth. For a while, we saw the superstars LeBron and Butler go back and forth. And then a hobbled Davis made a putback to give the Lakers a 108-107 lead with 21.8 seconds left. The resourceful Butler, however, got free on the next possession and he got fouled on the drive. Nowadays, those foul shots are automatic for Butler. He gave the lead back to Miami.
The now-debated play (for some reason) was this: LeBron drove in as the Heat crowded him. Bron passed the ball to Danny Green, who had been struggling in the bubble, for an open three. It fell painfully short. For some reason, that’s being debated. I’d make that play 100 out of 100 times.
But Markieff Morris got the board. He saw Davis on the post but he overthrew the pass. As we know, the Lakers haven’t been great on post entry passes forever.
Tyler Herro would get fouled. He upped the margin to three. LeBron did receive a pass on the frontcourt but the three went way short. We’re going to 6 games in the Finals.
You really have to give the Heat credit. They just keep coming at you no matter what. Even a fatigued Jimmy Butler reached down and kept making those big shots time and time again. He had a super 35-12-11 performance. Let’s also add in those 5 steals.
And really, 6 Heat players finished with double figures (Duncan Robinson had 26!). Even on a shortened rotation by Erik Spoelstra. They kept clawing at the Lakers. It’s extremely admirable.
As for the Lakers, we all knew this was going to come down on LeBron; he had an incredible game at 40-13-7. A hurt Davis still finished with 28 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, and 3 steals. KCP finished with 16 points and perhaps he should’ve gotten the shot instead of Danny Green. But the rest of the Lakers seemed invisible. They’re going to have to show up come Game 6.
And with a hurt Davis and a Goran Dragic return still on the table, I feel like anything can happen in this series now. The Heat have become a worthy Finals opponent after looking like ducks in Game 2.
Bullet Passes
Butler only sat down for 49 seconds. But again, at this point, Butler has to be INCREDIBLE for the Heat to stay in it. If Dragic comes back and he’s himself, it would put less pressure on Butler to be that great.
Kendrick Nunn finished with 14 points and it’s really the first playoff game that he’s done well. I thought they would go to Kelly Olynyk, who’s had a couple very good games in the Finals but probably for defensive purposes, Spoelstra kept him out.
Dwight Howard and Butler got technicals early after they got tangled up. Imagine if Butler got kicked out because of two sort of ticky-tack techs. Woof.
Finally, the Lakers lost with their Black Mamba jerseys for the first time in the playoffs. They were 4-0 going into Game 5. But apparently, these jerseys are not the equivalent to the Super Mario Starman.
NBA Finals Scoreboard
Game 5: #1 LAL 108 vs #5 MIA 111 (LAL leads series, 3-2)
Watch This Play
LeBron and Davis. UP TOP.
LA Lakers: Fast-Break Makers
(📺: ABC) pic.twitter.com/hHCySNpWps
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 10, 2020
This is a series now. Let’s go see what’s up with them after Sunday.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.