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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Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

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The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets by a 117-107 final score in Orlando on Saturday night, clinching their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 2010.

After allowing the Denver Nuggets to momentarily get back into the series after losing Game 3, the Lakers rattled off two consecutive wins to claim their title as the Western Conference’s best in the 2020 season.

Denver put up a fight, rallying from 10 points down at the half to draw the game to 87-84 at the end of the third quarter, but LeBron James and the Lakers pulled away in the final quarter to win by a ten-point margin.

James put together yet another signature playoff performance, recording a dominant triple-double which included 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. His partner in crime Anthony Davis added 27 points of his own to show just how dominant the Davis-James pairing can be.

After missing the playoffs in LeBron’s first season in Tinseltown last year, the Lakers now appear to have a laser-like focus on winning the franchise’s first crown since the Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol era.

Waiting for them in the Finals will be either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat, who currently have a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. The NBA Finals are set to kick off on either on Wednesday or Friday, depending on whether the Celtics-Heat series goes to a Game 7.

The post Lakers Win Game 5 to Advance to NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

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.

The post LeBron James Carries the Lakers to 3-1 Lead over Heat in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Not a lot of people expected to see Miami Heat in the NBA finals this season, which is why they enter the duel against the Los Angeles Lakers as overwhelming underdogs. But don’t tell that to Heat’s All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Asked about how Heat measures up to the Lakers ahead of the Finals series, Butler said that he and his teammates are “a really good team.” He then proceeded to brush off the notion that Miami is underdogs.

“Not going to say that we’re any better than anybody else, but I just don’t think that we’re underdogs. I don’t,” Butler explained. 

Butler is aware that not a lot of people see Heat going all the way, but that doesn’t bother him.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to do this our way, the Miami Heat way, and that way has worked for us all year long,” he added.

Jimmy Butler proved himself to be a big part of Miami’s success this season, being a leader for the team on and off the court. Throughout the postseason, Butler has been averaging 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals.

Miami Heat finished the regular season as a fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and was a popular projection for a second-round exit. However, Heat silenced the critics with a dominant performance in the opening series, sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Miami then proceeded to show that they are the real deal by eliminating Milwaukee Bucks, regular season’s best team, in just five games.

Heat secured the Lakers showdown by beating Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. They closed out the Celtics series with a 4-2 result.

The post Jimmy Butler Says the Heat aren’t Underdogs in NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets by a 117-107 final score in Orlando on Saturday night, clinching their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 2010.

After allowing the Denver Nuggets to momentarily get back into the series after losing Game 3, the Lakers rattled off two consecutive wins to claim their title as the Western Conference’s best in the 2020 season.

Denver put up a fight, rallying from 10 points down at the half to draw the game to 87-84 at the end of the third quarter, but LeBron James and the Lakers pulled away in the final quarter to win by a ten-point margin.

James put together yet another signature playoff performance, recording a dominant triple-double which included 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. His partner in crime Anthony Davis added 27 points of his own to show just how dominant the Davis-James pairing can be.

After missing the playoffs in LeBron’s first season in Tinseltown last year, the Lakers now appear to have a laser-like focus on winning the franchise’s first crown since the Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol era.

Waiting for them in the Finals will be either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat, who currently have a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. The NBA Finals are set to kick off on either on Wednesday or Friday, depending on whether the Celtics-Heat series goes to a Game 7.

The post Lakers Win Game 5 to Advance to NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.