LeBron James Carries the Lakers to 3-1 Lead over Heat in NBA Finals

LeBron James at the China tour in 2018
LeBron James at the China tour in 2018. Photo by Imaginechina/REX/Shutterstock (9818466f)

Los Angeles Lakers are one step closer to winning their 16th NBA title. Carried by great defense and a stellar performance from their superstar LeBron James, the Lakers beat Miami Heat 102-96 on Tuesday night to claim a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Game 4 was arguably the closest contest in the series, with both teams sitting at 83-83 midway through the fourth quarter. However, the Lakers started pulling ahead with James’ power drive to the basket to get and-one, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drilled a three on the subsequent possession to discourage another Heat’s rally.

Several minutes later, Anthony Davis delivered a dagger-three point to give the Lakers a nine-point lead and remove any doubts about the winner of the game.

Lebron James was the driving force for the Lakers in this game, scoring game-high 28 points to go with 12 rebounds and eight assists. Davis followed with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Danny Green and Caldwell-Pope also finished the game in double digits.

“Felt like a finals game,” said James after the game.”Felt like both teams were desperate … and that’s what it’s all about.”

Heat was led by Jimmy Butler, who had a near triple-double (22-10-9), while Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo scored 21 points and 15 points, respectively. Miami was playing their second straight game without guard Goran Dragic, who got injured during Game 2 and probably won’t return for the series.

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