LOS Angeles Lakers were stunned early by the Miami Heat before turning things around for a 116-98 Game 1 victory in the 2019-2020 NBA Finals on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines).
Anthony Davis had a solid NBA Finals debut with 34 points and nine rebounds, while LeBron James fell an assist short for a triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Kentavious Cadwell-Pope uncorked 13 points, with 10 coming in the opening period, as Daniel Green and Alex Caruso also hit double-digits in scoring with 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Lakers.
Miami had a heat surge early in the series opener as it led 25-12 before Cadwell-Pope sparked a furious Lakers rally with back-to-back three-points to take a 31-28 edge after a triple by Caruso.
The Heat were still in the thick of the fight in the second quarter and took a 43-41 lead on two straight triples by Tyler Herro but the Lakers answered with 11-0 blast from Green, Davis and Rajon Rondo to move up 65-41 at the half.
James, Davis and Cadwell-Pope continued the onslaught for the Los Angeles in the third quarter as they build their largest lead at 87-55 midway in the quarter on a two-pointer by Davis.
The Heat made its last push in the fourth quarter behind rookie Kendrick Nunn as they trimmed the deficit to 96-109 before James steadied the ship for the Lakers with back-to-back layup.
Jimmy Butler finished the match with 23 points, while Nunn and Herro added 18 and 14 markers, respectively, for the Heat, which lost Goran Dragić and Bam Adebayo to injuries in Game 1.
Game 2 of the 2019-2020 NBA Finals is on Friday night (Saturday in the Philippines).
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.
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 116 — Davis 34, James 25, Caldwell-Pope 13, Green 11, Caruso 10, Morris 8, Rondo 7, Kuzma 3, Cook 3, Howard 2, Dudley 0, Smith 0.
MIAMI 98 — Butler 23, Nunn 18, Herro 14, Crowder 12, Adebayo 8, Iguodala 7, Dragic 6, Hill 4, Olynyk 4, Jones Jr. 2, Robinson 0.
Quarterscores: 31-28; 65-48; 93-67; 116-98.
