NBA Finals 2020: LeBron James powers Los Angeles Lakers into 2-0 lead against Miami Heat
Written by News on 03/10/2020
LeBron James scored 33 points and Anthony Davis contributed 32 as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals with a 124-114 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
James also had nine rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who led for the majority of the contest. Davis, who converted 15-of-20 shots, grabbed 14 rebounds.
Rajon Rondo added 16 points and 10 assists, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 11 points apiece.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 25 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Twenty-year-old Tyler Herro, 20, who replaced Magic Johnson as the youngest player to start a game in the Finals, finished with 17 points for the Heat, who played without center Bam Adebayo (shoulder strain) and guard Goran Dragic (plantar fascia tear in left foot).
Kendrick Nunn had 13 points and Jae Crowder added 12.
Game 3 takes place in the early hours of Monday morning (12:30am), live on Sky Sports Arena.
A lay-up by Crowder pulled the Heat within 47-43 with 4:38 remaining in the second quarter. However, three free throws by Kuzma capped a 9-2 Lakers’ run for a 56-45 advantage with 3:06 left in the half. Miami sliced the margin to 10 before Los Angeles went up 68-54 at the break.
The Lakers led by 18 points in the third quarter but the Heat kept hanging around. A three-point play by Kelly Olynyk and two foul shots by Herro with 48.8 seconds left in the quarter cut the gap to 100-91 before a three-pointer by Rondo pushed the lead to double digits again.
The Lakers led 103-93 heading into the fourth quarter. Davis scored 15 points in the third. Miami failed to cut the lead below nine points in the fourth quarter.
Davis scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting to help the Lakers outshoot the Heat 55.3 per cent to 44.7 per cent in the first half. Overall, the Heat shot 50.7 per cent to 50.5 per cent for the Lakers.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: NBA Finals 2020: LeBron James powers Los Angeles Lakers into 2-0 lead against Miami Heat
