After the Lakers took game two, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat was determined to come back with a win of their own, just to let the Lakers know that if they let their guard down at all, the series will be in the Heat’s hands. Figuratively speaking, the Lakers heard the alarm that the Heat was causing to go off, and they woke up right on time. Though it was a battle, the Lakers showed they knew how to control the game more, and had the great players to get it done. Game five showed that the Miami Heat was definitely the right team for this series, and if the Lakers as a whole do not step up now because of the Anthony Davis’s questionable health, it will be a 50/50 shot at the NBA championship with a game seven on the line, and we’ve seen this 3-1 series comeback all to many times this playoffs alone.

(These summaries and thoughts are written from the perspective of a person who did not see any of the games following the one being covered.)

Game 3

Game three of the NBA finals was all about Jimmy Butler. The man who did so much for his team to get to the finals continued to show great heart against the western conference beasts, the Lakers. Whoever was guarding him, whoever switched on to him, or whatever traffic he dribbled or jumped into, it seemed as if Butler was just having his way. Also, it wasn’t just him scoring, even though he posted a huge chunk of the Heat’s point with 40, he was setting up his team with great assists, and did his part on the glass with 11 rebounds. Miami won 115-104. It was not a landslide victory, and we all had in our minds at this time that the Heat will take at least one game out of the series. If it had to be with an Allen Iverson-esque performance, we know how that will end, in the Lakers Favor. 

Game 4

After the Jimmy Butler show that was the NBA finals game three, the Lakers came back sharper and prepared for everything the Heat was going to try to throw at them. Butler did not have the superstar performance he had in game three and that was due to a bend but don’t break defense by Los Angeles. It is as if the Lakers told themselves they were going to get give up points, just as long as they stay sound and focused on their goal each possession, they can win this game. LeBron James had a lot of plays go through him, as always, but just as a runningback is the key to managing the ball in football, a ball handler that is patient is key in basketball. The heat still hung in there, but unlike the Lakers they seemed a little antsy, causing turnovers, and bad plays to turn into points for L.A. The final score was 102-96 Lakers. Once again we see that a player that has to takeover in order for a team to win is very very hard to do for four games. If the Lakers do what they did this game, they will find themselves hoisting the Larry O’brien trophy after game five.

Game 5

This game was a fight ’til the finish. Bad news for the Lakers coming out of this game, Anthony Davis tweaked his ankle twice on rebound attempts, and while we do not know if he is going to be 100% for game six, we do know he gave his all to this game to win. Davis was a on the floor during the final plays, but just did not see as much action as he probably usually would. Los Angeles and Miami were putting up points and making defensive stops evenly. No one had a lead that was too big for the other team to come back in a couple of shots. The fourth quarter is where things got interesting. With a little over three minutes left the Heat were up 101-99 after a Duncan Robinson three-pointer. James was incredible, scoring and-one after and-one, and finding teammates in position to make plays, such as Danny Green at the top of the key to hit what would’ve probably been a game winner. The scary part for the Lakers is that even through that great performance by James, they still loss. For Jimmy Butler, we saw much of what we saw game three, this time with someone like Robinson scoring 26 behind him, and Tyler Herro just being a great presence on the floor throughout the series. The game came down to the final seconds, and I would say the Lakers couldn’t have gotten into better position to score a game winning shot, but it was missed by who is usually a great spot up shooter in Danny Green. The Heat ended up winning the game 111-108.