Anthony Davis took advantage of the Miami Heat not having all-NBA defensive team member Bam Adebayo, as Davis finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat by the score of 124-114. Davis scored 15 of his points in the third quarter as the Heat could not find an answer to stop him in the paint.
Davis finished 15-of-20 from the floor, hitting 14 of his first 16 shots. He had eight of the Lakers’ 16 offensive rebounds, allowing them to create plenty of second-chance points against a depleted Heat lineup. The Lakers outrebounded the Heat 16-6 on the offensive glass — also allowing the Lakers to get extra chances to from beyond the arc.
LeBron James added 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, with the Lakers knocking down 16 3-pointers. Their 47 3-point attempts were a franchise record and they fell three short of tying the franchise playoff record.
Miami was led by Jimmy Butler‘s 25 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. Kelly Olynyk added 24 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes.
The Heat were without Adebayo (shoulder/neck) and Goran Dragic (foot) — and minus those two key starters, coach Erik Spoelstra had to shorten his rotation, using only seven players all game.
The Heat led for a grand total of 1 minute and 5 seconds, coming no closer than nine points in the second half, and even that was in the third quarter.
Game 3 is set for Sunday at 9 p.m.
NOTES
- Miami outshot Los Angeles 34-17 from the free-throw line.
- This marks the first time a team with LeBron has won the first two games in a Finals series.
- Only four teams in NBA history have come back from a 2-0 deficit.
- This is the 24th time a James team has gone up 2-0 in a series. They’ve won each of the previous 23.
- Los Angeles is now 4-0 in the playoffs when it has sported the Kobe Bryant-inspired “Black Mamba” jerseys.
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