Butler scored 40 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 13 assists
MIAMI: The Miami Heat, fuelled by a 40-point triple-double from Jimmy Butler, clawed their way back into the NBA Finals with a 115-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
The under-manned, under-sized, underdog Heat turned the tables on the Western Conference champions in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, cutting the deficit in the best-of-seven championship series to two games to one.
“I think we realised that we belong,” Butler said. “They can be beat, as long as we do what we’re supposed to do.”
Butler scored 40 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 13 assists to power a Heat team missing injured Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic for the second straight game.
The injuries to Adebayo and Dragic were a huge blow to the Eastern Conference fifth-seeded Heat’s hopes of pulling off a title upset, but Miami, with Butler leading the way, declined to back down.
Superstar LeBron James led the Lakers with 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
But it was a tough night for Anthony Davis, who was in foul trouble early and finished with 15 points and just five rebounds in the defeat.
An 8-0 scoring run capped by Rajon Rondo’s driving layup saw the Lakers take a 91-89 lead with 8:56 left in the game. The Heat responded with an 8-0 run of their own launched by Butler’s fadeaway jumper under pressure in the paint.
After James was whistled for travelling, Butler cut through the Lakers defence and fired a pass to Kelly Olynyk on the perimeter for a three-pointer and the Heat were on their way.
“They continued to make shots,” James said. “We had some turnovers, we didn’t make shots. They came out and executed after we took the lead.
“Jimmy had his hand in all those plays, pretty much,” added James, who said Butler was “phenomenal.”
‘BIG-TIME’ BUTLER
“He did everything that they needed him to do tonight and he came through big-time in a big-time game,” James said.
Butler added two blocks and two steals as he did a stellar job defending James, but said individual numbers are meaningless at this stage.
“Win,” he said of his total focus in game three, a mission no doubt sharpened by the knowledge that no NBA team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series. — AFP
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