NBA Finals: Lakers go for clincher vs Heat in Game 5

WITH their first National Basketball Association (NBA) title after a decade in sight, Los Angeles Lakers aim for a clincher when it battles Miami Heat in Game 5 of their Finals on Friday night (Saturday morning in the Philippines).

Lakers forward LeBron James said he and his teammates will not waste the opportunity to come out as victors after taking a 3-1 in the series with a 102-96 Game 4 triumph.

“For me, I mean, at this point in the season, I don’t care about rest,” James said. “I really don’t. I don’t care about sleep. I don’t care about resting throughout the game because I can rest in a week, max.”

“But I know (Heat head coach Eric) Spoelstra going into Game 5. I know the Heat won’t go out easily,” added the three-time NBA champion. “That’s the best part about it. It’s a chess match.”

Big man Anthony Davis, for his part, is also excited to win his maiden crown with the 16-time NBA titlist Lakers, but he knows that the Heat will not hand it to them on a silver platter.

“They are going to make adjustments. We got to be prepared for it,” Davis said. “We’re going to make adjustments. It’s going to be a big two days for us. Come out Game 5 and hopefully finish it off.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler, who has been the Heat’s go-to guy in the series, remains positive of keeping their title aspirations alive against the heavily-favored crew of head coach Frank Vogel.

“Our confidence ain’t going nowhere,” Butler said. “It’s going to stay high, I’m going to make sure that it stays high because it’s going to have to be at an all-tie high to get this next win.”

Miami big man Bam Adebayo, who returned to action in Game 4 from a neck injury, said he will try to be more aggressive in Game 5.

“I feel like collectively we all need two days off,” Adebayo said. “It’s not just me but we all need a couple days just to readjust, realign, get some fresh air and get back to the drawing board.”/PN