JIMMY Butler steered Miami Heat’s offense from start to finish as they cruise to a 115-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines).
Butler tallied triple-double 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds – his first in the NBA playoffs – while Kelly Olynyk and rookie Tyler Herro submitted 17 markers apiece for the Heat, which trimmed the series deficit to 1-2.
Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder went active with 13 and 12 points respectively for Miami, which played minus injured veterans Goran Dragić and Bam Adebayo.
The Heat set the tone early with a 22-9 opening via consecutive hits from Butler and outside shots from Meyers Leonard, Robinson and Olynyk. The Lakers launched a run to come to within 23-26 after 12 minutes.
Los Angeles even took a 37-33 upperhand early in the second period, but Miami had a quick response from Robinson and Butler to take a 44-37 advantage before settling for a 58-54 lead at the half.
Miami started the second half with a 10-0 blast for its largest lead at 68-54 on three-point hits from Herro and Robinson. Los Angeles responded with a huge rally to take a 91-89 lead on a layup by Rajon Rondo.
The Heat responded with another run behind Olynyk and Herro to build a 103-95 edge. The Lakers made its last push at 100-105, but consecutive hits by Butler and Herro gave Miami a 115-102 lead.
LeBron James finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma added 19 markers each for the Lakers.
BOX SCORE:
MIAMI 115 – Butler 40, Olynyk 17, Herro 17, Robinson 13, Crowder 12, Leonard 7, Nunn 4, Hill 3, Iguodala 2, Jones Jr 0.
LOS ANGELES 104 – James 25, Kuzma 19, Morris 19, Davis 15, Caruso 8, Caldwell-Pope 5, Howard 4, Rondo 4, Smith 3, Green 2.
Quarterscores:
Q1, 26-23; Q2, 58-54; Q3, 85-80; Q4, 115-104.
The NBA holds all matches of its 2019-2020 playoffs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States./PN
