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After taking a seemingly convincing 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, several analysts were ready to hand the Los Angeles Lakers their 17th championship. The Miami Heat had other plans, however, as they went on to claim an impressive 115-104 victory in Sunday night's Game 3 matchup. All of a sudden, it looks like this could be a competitive series.
In this piece, we'll highlight five takeaways from Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Early intensity
Right off the proverbial bat, it must be noted that the Lakers fell flat in the first quarter. In fact, Miami opened a 13-point gap in the early stages of Game 3, but Los Angeles managed to battle back. The Heat then took a 14-point lead at the start of the second half thanks to a 10-0 run. Again, Los Angeles battled back, scoring the next eight points.
Miami had a 12-point lead late in the third frame, but the Lakers once again fought their way back into the game, rattling off a 20-6 run that actually took the lead (91-89).
See a theme developing here? Miami would break free, and the Lakers would run them down. However, Los Angeles was outscored in all four quarters. And as a result, they were forced to heave up a ton of threes (42 in total).
“We were almost fighting back the entire game,” Lakers forward Markieff Morris said during his post-game availability, via ESPN.
The Lakers could not stop Jimmy Butler for much of the game, which led to their demise. More on his outstanding performance later, though.
Ball security
Any coach will tell you that turnovers are a killer. The Lakers felt this pain in Game 3, as they gave the ball up 19 times. Conversely, the Heat committed just 12 turnovers as a team.
Notably, Los Angeles' two stars accounted for 13 alone. Anthony Davis, who struggled to find a rhythm (15 points, five rebounds and a -26 plus/minus), had five. LeBron James (25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists) led the Lake Show in this department with a whopping eight giveaways. Clearly, this is an issue the Lakers will need to address ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Unlikely candidates
Both teams received sparks from unlikely sources in Game 3. For the Heat, it was Kelly Olynyk, who racked up 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Olynyk went 5-of-9 from the field, which included a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc. To be frank, Kelly actually outplayed Anthony Davis, which can't happen for the Lakers.
KELLY OLYNYK's Last 2 Games
17 PTS (5/9 FG) 7 REB, 3 3PT
24 PTS (9/16 FG) 9 REB, 3 3PTpic.twitter.com/Kco0meN9PG— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 5, 2020
It's also worth noting that rookie Tyler Herro had a nice night for the Heat, as he too finished with 17 points. He was just 1-of-8 for four points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in the first half, but he turned on the jets in the fourth quarter. After knocking down a late-game layup over Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo, the former Kentucky Wildcat dished out a mean mug for anyone who was interested.
Tyler Herro puts Game 3 away in #PhantomCam! 😤#NBAFinals #HEATTwitter
Game 4: Tuesday – 9pm/et, ABC pic.twitter.com/DVbVesC95N
— NBA (@NBA) October 5, 2020
Article Continues Below“We had players step up this whole playoffs, and it's no different now for us,” Heat forward Jae Crowder said, via ESPN.
Shorthanded success
Injuries were an issue for the Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, yet the team managed to persevere. Miami was without two key players for the matchup in Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. Bam is currently day-to-day with a neck injury, while The Dragon is dealing with a foot ailment. Both were ruled out for Sunday's matchup, but there are some reports indicating that Bam could be well enough to play in Game 4.
Injuries are unfortunate, but they often open the door of opportunity for other players, such as Olynyk and Herro.
One for the books
Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler prides himself as one of the better defensive players in the NBA, and he certainly has a case. In Game 3, however, it was his offensive prowess that shone through. Though his team was shorthanded and facing an 0-2 deficit in the series, he was not ready to simply give up.
In his 45 minutes of playing time, Butler scored 40 points on 14-of-20 shooting, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. He also had 14 attempts at the free-throw line, of which he made 12. With this impressive stat line, he became the first player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double in a Finals victory.
“This is what he wanted, this is what we wanted,” Spoelstra told ESPN. “It's really hard to analyze or describe Jimmy until you actually feel him between the four lines. He's a supreme, elite competitor and we needed it.”
Even LeBron James had high praise for Butler's performance in Game 3. The King, who passed John Stockton for the No. 2 spot on the NBA's all-time playoff assist list, went on to note that he's going to miss playing against such a competitor when his career is over:
“He's one of the best competitors we have in our game,” the Lakers' LeBron James said. “Love that opportunity. For me, personally, I don't know how many more opportunities I'm going to have so to be able to go against a fierce competitor like that is something I'll look back on when I'm done playing. I'll miss those moments.”
Last night Jimmy Butler became the first player to outscore, outrebound and out-assist LeBron in a Finals game.
That includes any of LBJ’s teammates over the years.
All-time performance.
(via @EliasSports | @MarcJSpears) pic.twitter.com/vcCWgLR4E5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2020
Jimmy Butler had an all-time performance tonight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SKfhS47XAo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2020
And so the stage is set for an intriguing Game 4 NBA Finals matchup (Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET). Has Miami found a weakness, or was it simply an off night for Los Angeles?
