NBA Finals Week 1
The NBA Finals are finally here. Usually in June, the Finals are being played later due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first time that the games are played in a neutral location at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
The finals matchup is between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. This series is special because LeBron James gets to face his former team in which he won two Finals Championships with. This is the Lakers first appearance since 2010 when they faced the Celtics but their 32nd overall appearance, which holds the record.
This is the Heat’s first appearance since LeBron left to return to the Cavaliers and their sixth overall appearance. The Lakers are looking for their 17th championship, which would tie the Celtics for most all time. The Heat are looking for their fourth championship. They defeated the Celtics in six games last week in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Lakers won against the Nuggets in five games in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the finals.
In Game 1 on Wednesday, LeBron and Anthony Davis shined with 59 points combined. They both had at least nine rebounds and LeBron finished with a double-double as he even added nine assists. The result of the game was Lakers 116-98 finishing on top.
In Game 2 on Friday, the Heat looked to bounce back from the loss, but they were unable to. In the win, the Lakers had two players with a double-double. Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds in the game, as former Celtics star, Rajon Rondo, had 16 points and 10 assists. The Lakers top scorer was LeBron with 33 points,, as he also had nine rebounds. Jimmy Butler was solid with 25 points and 13 assists for a double-double. The Lakers won 124-114 against the Heat to go up 2-0.
In Game 3 last night, the Heat needed to get out of the hole with them behind 2-0. Jimmy Butler had a series-high 40 points with 13 assists and 11 rebounds for a triple-double. LeBron had 25 points and 10 assists for a double-double, as Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma had 19 points each for the Lakers. Rookie, Tyler Herro, and former Celtic Kelly Olynyk each scored 17 points for the Heat winning 115-104 to make the series 1-2 against the Lakers.
The series is pushed to Game 5 and the Heat could push this to Game 6 with a win or the Lakers may win the next 2 games to take the NBA Finals.
Game 4 will be taking place Thursday at 9 p.m. and Game 5 will be on Friday at 9 p.m.
