Not enough in Game 4
Heat come up short late, fall to the brink of elimination
Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, 3, and LeBron James, 23, in the first quarter of Game 4 of the 2020NBA Finals at Advent Health Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Tuesday in Lake Buena Vista. Adebayo had missed the previous two games with a neck strain. The Lakers beat the Heat 102-96, giving Los Angeles a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Miami Heat found themselves closer to whole Tuesday night, but nonetheless find themselves in a whole lot of trouble, nowin a deepNBA Finals hole.
Even with center Bam Adebayo back in the mix, there still wasn’t enough to hold off the Los AngelesLakers, with a102-96loss at Disney’ s Wide World of Sports complex dropping them to a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series.
Only once has a team overcome such a deficit in Finals history. That was when LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers did it against the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
This time the Lakers have James, and now he is one victory from winning a championship with a third franchise, having done it in 2012 and ’13 with the Heat.
WhileAdebayowas solid in his return, after missing the previous two games with a neck strain, the Heat remained without guard Goran Dragic, who missed his third consecutive game with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
TheHeatkept it close throughout, tying it 83-83 on a Jimmy
Butler layup with 6:27 to play.
Going into the fourth quarter, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said in his televised interview, “We’re emptying the tank,” well aware of the peril of a 3-1 deficit. Ultimately, there simplywasn’t enough. James led the Lakers with 28 points, supported by 22 from AnthonyDavis.
Adebayo closed with15 points and seven rebounds in his return, with the Heat getting 22 points from Butler, 21 from Tyler Herro and17 fromDuncan Robinson.
The teams now have the series’ only two-day beak, with Game 5 at 9 p.m. on Friday night.
Five degrees night’s game:
1. End game: A Herro free throw drew the Heat within 90-89 with 3:39 to play, with missed 3-point attempts by James andButler then missing, before Kentavious Caldwellconverted a 3-pointer with 2:58 left for a 93-88 Lakers lead.
Adebayo then made a jumper that came after the shot-clock buzzer, for a Heat 24-second violation, with Caldwell-Pope following on the other end with a layup that produced a 95-88 Lakers lead with two minutes left.
Eventually, with 1:37 left Jae Crowder converted a 3-pointer to draw the Heat within 95-91, but a Rajon Rondo layup on the other end put the Lakers up 97-91. A 3-pointer by Davis with 39.5 seconds left then effectively ended it.
2. Second wind: Itwas an uneven start for James, who stood with just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in the first half, with five turnovers to four assists over the opening two periods.
But by the midpoint of the third period, that scoring totalwas doubled, with James converting a pair of 3-pointers.
He kept going fromthere.
Along the way, James reached of
Heat from
Tuesday 500
points in these playoffs, making it the sixth time he has reached 500 points, 150 rebounds and150 assists in the same postseason. The only other player to do that was the Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird, in 1987.
The Lakers opened up the court for James in the second half, with Markieff Morris starting the third quarter in place of DwightHoward.
3. Picking up … briefly: Butler picked up where he left off in his 40-point Game 3 on Sunday night, this time with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, punctuating the opening period with a 22-foot pull-up shot at the buzzer.
This time the Lakers opened with Davis defending Butler, which Butler continuing with the defensive assignmentonJameson the other end, on a night the Heat eschewed their zone defense.
Fatigue then appeared to take a toll, as Butler cooled, missing his next seven shots, even as he continued to fill out the box score.
4. Game on: Adebayo was back and in the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a neck strain.
Optimism arrived early when he twice was knocked to the court before the game’s first timeout, and twice got up and back into the action.
Herro said itwas a major boost.
“A major difference,” the rookie guard said. “He’s our heart and soul. With him back, he changes the dynamic of things just being in the middle.”
5. Dragic a no-go: Dragic attempted to warm up before the game, but it became clear that the discomfort prevented him from cutting on his left foot, as he drilled with assistant coach Chris Quinn.
Dragicworked under the supervision of Brandon Gilliam, the Heat’s assistant trainer and director of rehabilitation.
Dragic was replaced for the third consecutive game by Herro in the starting lineup.
Dragic said Monday, “I’m making some progress, then some days I’m the same.”’