Game 3 looms as Heat trail Lakers
Miami played Game 2 without two starters
LAKEBUENAVISTA, FLA. » For the Los Angeles Lakers, the mission is simple: Get two more wins and become NBA champions.
For the Miami Heat, the mission may be even more simple: Get one win andmake this a series.
Game 3 of the NBAFinals is Sunday night, the Lakers holding a 2- 0 lead in the title matchup — putting the franchise within reach of a record-tying 17th championship, LeBron James closer to his fourth ring and Anthony Davis perhaps a few days away from his first crown. They know desperation is coming from a banged-up Miami team, since Game 3 is almost certainlyamust for the Heat.
“We’re never giving up,” Heat
forward JimmyButler said. “We’re going to fight and we’re going to ride with this thing until the wheels fall off. It’s not over. We’re just down 0-2, so we’ve got to do something special. We’re capable of it and I wouldn’t want to be in the trenches with any other guys except for the ones that we have.”
Thing is, Butler isn’t certain which guys will be in those trenches Sunday.
All-Star center BamAdebayo missed Game 2 with neck and shoulder problems, while starting point guard Goran Dragic also couldn’t play because of a torn left plantar fascia. Adebayo is hopeful that he could be well enough to play Sunday; Dragic wants desperately to be out there as well, but the Heat have concerns about how painful it would be for him.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are making things look
easy.
The biggest stat differences in the first two games are the Lakers outscoring the Heat by 27 points from 3-point range and a 25-11 edge so far in offensive rebounding.
The Lakers not named James or Davis are shooting a combined 39% — but the two superstars are more than making up for that, shooting a combined
59%. If that’s what it takes, Davis isn’t complaining.
“We know we have something special with us two and this team, and just trying to capitalize on it,” Davis said.
Being in the NBA Finals 10 times now means James has seen just about everything, which alsomeans he can sound whatever alarm he wants.
Only four teams have
come back from2-0 deficits in the finals. James was on the most recent club to do it, the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers who were down 2- 0 and 3-1 before rallying to beat the Golden StateWarriors in seven games for his third title.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was an assistant coach in 2006, when Miami rallied fromdown 2- 0 against Dallas for that season’s championship. Like James, he knows it can be done.
“What will it take? Whatever is necessary. It’s simple as that,” Spoelstra said. “If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure it out. Our group is extremely stubborn, persistent, and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent. And that we respect the quality, high quality of opponent that we’re playing. You’ve’ got to figure it out and overcome it.”
The Lakers aren’t celebrating early. But if Davis and James keep going like this, the Lakers’ chances are looking pretty good.