Heat Defeat Lakers in Game 3

Heat Defeat Lakers in Game 3

NBA

Heat Defeat Lakers in Game 3

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LeBron James turned it over Sunday night, part of a sloppy performance by the Lakers in a 115-104 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

 

The Lakers stayed behind until early in the fourth quarter. But Miami went back ahead for good right after James’ first travel and Butler wouldn’t Los Angeles come back again, finishing with 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

James and Davis had been putting up numbers like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant through the first two games of the series. With Miami short-handed, the only intrigue seemed to be which of the two Lakers superstars would win the NBA Finals MVP award.

Now there’s much more intrigue than that.

But the Lakers never lost again after their defeats in each of the three previous rounds, finishing each series in five games. They can still do that now.

“I don’t feel like we’re concerned,” James said. “We know we can play a lot better. We have another opportunity to take a commanding lead on Tuesday” in Game 4.

Knocked off track early by Anthony Davis’ first-quarter foul trouble, the Lakers wasted a chance to take a 3-0 lead, which has never been blown in NBA playoff history.

They never got control of Jimmy Butler or of the basketball in Game 3. Los Angeles committed 20 turnovers that led to 21 Miami points, with James committing a game-high eight of them.

Davis took only nine shots and finished with 15 points, less than half of his performances in the first two games, when he scored 34 and 32.

“You have to be able to adapt and adjust,” Vogel said of Davis’ foul trouble. “It probably had a small factor on our offensive rhythm but we’ve just got to be better overall on both ends.”

James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but the NBA assist leader’s turnovers contributed to the Lakers never having sustained momentum.

“You just can’t turn the ball over against that team,” James said, “and I take full responsibility for that.”