The LA Lakers defeated Miami Heat in Game 4 102-96, taking a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis scored a crucial three-pointer with 39.5 seconds to go, keeping a safe distance between his side and the Heat, 100-91, and sealing the LAL’s win in this one.
After a highly entertaining and close matchup, in which both sides had a lead often (though the Lakers spent more time being ahead), Frank Vogel’s boys won, coming to just one win away from capturing the 17th title in history.
The last two periods saw them constantly rebuffing Miami’s surges, but on the other side, now being able to make a run of their own and to go up to seal the win a bit earlier.
LeBron James had 28 points, 12 boards, and 8 assists, in 39 minutes, shooting 8-for-16 from the field. Anthony Davis had the same figures when it comes to field goals, but he had 22 buckets, with nine boards and four assists. AD also had 4 blocked shots and was the only one among the purple and gold with rejections.
Apart from these two players, the Lakers’ supporting crew was much better than in Game 3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points, with five assists, and Danny Green added 10. Markieff Morris and Kuzma scored 9.
Among the Heat, Jimmy Butler once again had a superb performance, this time being short of a triple-double for one dime. Miami’s forward had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists with three steals and a block.
Tyler Herro scored 21 buckets, seven boards, shooting 8-for-18, with 7 rebounds. Duncan Robinson added 17 of his own, and Bam Adebayo, who got back into the lineup, scored 15 with 7 rebounds.
The fact that the Lakers’ biggest lead was when AD hit that three, and on the other side, Miami’s was five points, tells a lot about the intensity of this contest.
Heat’s Goran Dragic tried to play this match, and went through a warm-up before the game, but the Slovenian couldn’t appear during the game. It is a massive handicap for Erik Spoelstra’s side who lost Drago in the first clash of the NBA Finals.
Game 5 is set for this Friday at 9 om ET. So far, in 36 series where one side had a 3-1 lead, on 35 occasions that team won the title. The lone that came back from the deficit were the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, with LeBron.