The Miami Heat are now one defeat away from kissing their championship aspirations goodbye, but head coach Erik Spoelstra still believes his team made it to the big dance for a reason.
Shortly after the Heat dropped Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, 102-96, the revered tactician admitted they never expected things to be easy in the series.
Erik Spoelstra: “We’re here for a purpose. We never expected it to be easy.”
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 7, 2020
Miami entered Tuesday's match with momentum on their side following their spirited victory over LA in Game 3. While they kept it close until the end and even took the lead several times, the Heat just simply ran out of steam in the end game.
Even with All-Star Bam Adebayo back from injury, Miami couldn't stop the Lakers' red-hot run in the final canto, which ultimately led to their downfall. They were down by just two with around two minutes left, but they were blindsided by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's gutsy five-point swing.
Lakers superstar Anthony Davis put the nail in the coffin with a 3-pointer at the top of the key with 39.5 ticks left.
The Heat also didn't do themselves any favors by not playing their usual kind of basketball. The unselfish team only had 18 assists the entire game, as opposed to the Lakers' 25.
Miami had just 18 assists, fewest for them in the playoffs. They were 3-6 in the regular season when they had 18 or fewer.
— Steve Aschburner (@AschNBA) October 7, 2020
Moreover, they were unable to rely on their biggest strengths, which is their 3-point shooting and strong bench production.
Miami's bench: 4-of-18 overall, 2-of-9 from three
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) October 7, 2020
Erik Spoelstra's wards now face some seemingly insurmountable odds down 3-1 against a determined Lakers unit. However, it would be foolish to count the Heat out, especially after the grit and heart they have displayed throughout their stay inside the bubble.
Coach Spo's team wasn't even supposed to be in the Finals — according to their many naysayers at the beginning of the season. Yet, here they are, giving the Lakers quite the fight in the grandest stage.
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