Miami Heats beat LA Lakers in Game 5
- Miami Heats hold on to win Game 4 111-108 on Friday night
- Jimmy Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists as he led the Heats to victory
- Danny Green missed a shot at the final second that would have given the Lakers the historic win
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19
Miami Heats beat LA Lakers in Game 5.
The NBA Finals — and Miami’s title chances — are not over, not after Butler and the Heat pulled off a virtuoso performance in Game 5 on Friday night.
Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Heat held off Los Angeles 111-108 to cut the Lakers’ lead in the title series to 3-2.
James had 40 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers. But on the possession that decided everything Friday night, the Heat forced the ball out of James’ hands by basically sending three defenders at him as he drove down the right side of the lane, the Heat up by one, the Lakers only needing one basket for a title.
He found Green alone atop the key; Green’s shot was well short and the Heat closed it out with a pair of free throws.
Duncan Robinson had 26 points for Miami, which used seven players. Kendrick Nunn had 14 points, Bam Adebayo 13, Tyler Herro 12 and Jae Crowder 11. The seventh player, Andre Iguodala, didn’t score.
Anthony Davis — playing through a bruised heel — scored 28 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 for the Lakers.
Los Angeles broke out all the stops: Davis had shiny gold sneakers on, the hue similar to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and the team made the decision earlier in the week to skip on the scheduled purple uniforms and wear the black ones designed and inspired by Kobe Bryant instead.
Game 6 is Sunday night.
