Lakers Take Game 4, One Step Away From the Title

Anthony Davis drilled a three-pointer with 39.5 seconds left until the end of Game 4, handing his Lakers a nine-point lead, and securing a win. The final result of this highly entertaining contest was 102-96 for the LAL, who are now just one step away from winning the NBA title.

“We still had mistakes, but with so many mistakes we had, we just covered for each other, mistakes are going to happen, and we played with a little more sense of urgency tonight,” AD said.

He didn’t have some spectacular night when it comes to scoring or posting stats, but once again, the Eyebrow was the one who decided this game. Davis tallied 22 points while shooting 8-for-16 from the field, had nine rebounds and four assists, and blocks.

Frank Vogel’s team wouldn’t manage to pull away from the Heat, although they had a lead most of the time, especially in the second half. Each time LAL created some notable edge, Miami would be back. However, the purple and gold wouldn’t allow the rivals to get the advantage themselves, and the game was always tight and dramatic.

“This was a throwback game, and there were some moments of truth there at the end, and probably the bottom line is they won those moments of truth,” Erik Spoelstra said.

His Jimmy Butler was excellent, not catching a triple-double tonight, but once again having a major impact on the Heat’s performance. With 22 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals, Butler was the best player in Miami. Despite the loss, he still believes that his team can come back and win the series.

“Our confidence ain’t going nowhere. It’s going to stay high. I’m going to make sure that it stays high because it’s going to have to be at an all-time high to get this next win.”

Besides Butler, the Heat had Tyler Herro, who ended the contest with 21 points and seven boards. Duncan Robinson scored 17 points, while Bam Adebayo came back in the lineup with 15 points and seven boards.

LeBron James had a game-high 28 points. King James was two assists short of reaching a triple-double with 12 rebounds and 8 dimes, constantly attacking the basket and forcing the Heat players to make fouls. That is why he went to the free-throw line 12 times, and scored 10 of his points from there.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and five dimes, Danny Green had 10, while Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris scored 9 each.

“You have to credit our guys’ competitive spirit,” coach Vogel said. “They were flying around and just competing at an extremely high level that end of the floor.”

With just one win away from the NBA title, the Lakers are pretty fired up, and the probabilities are heavily on their side. The team that had a 3-1 lead in the finals won in 35 of 36 such series. Still, LeBron knows what is like going against the odds, as he led his Cleveland Cavaliers to that single comeback from being down 3-1, against the Warriors in 2016. It is pretty sure that LBJ won’t allow any slowdown among his teammates.

On the other side, the Heat have nothing to lose now, and they can play without any pressure. We already saw how Denver Nuggets reacted in that position, and that is currently a guideline for the team from Miami.

Game 5 is this Friday, at 9 pm ET.