Erik Spoelstra will be a more content man than he was 2 nights ago. His press conference, where he raved about Jimmy Butler, clearly revealed what he thought was instrumental to their win.
Advertisement
On a night when Anthony Davis took just 9 shots against the likes of Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk, the Heat won a Finals game by outlasting their opponents.
Despite getting out-rebounded by the Lakers and making 2 fewer 3 pointers on virtually the same percentage, the Heat forced the Lakers into 19 turnovers. They got the win on the back of their defensive efforts.
Erik Spoelstra showers the praise on Jimmy Butler with f-bomb
Jimmy Butler became only the 3rd player in NBA Finals history to record a 40-point triple-double.
He’s also the first to get this stat in a winning cause, as both LeBron James and Jerry West lost their games. Butler recorded 13 of his 14 field goals from inside the paint and did not take a single 3-point attempt. Both are firsts for any player not named Shaquille O’Neal or LeBron James.
The Heat needed somebody to step up as a scorer big-time given how the Lakers have 2 dominant scorers. Butler complemented his scoring with some amazing playmaking tonight as well.
He shot an efficient 14-of-20 from the floor and make 12 of his 14 free throws. His teammates benefited from his vision a lot, as the likes of Kelly Olynyk and Duncan Robinson got tons of good looks.
With Bam Adebayo’s return in Game 4 on the cards, there is a chance that the Heat can come back into the series with another performance on these lines.
Then again, you will definitely not see LeBron failing to set up Anthony Davis for a dominant comeback from this underwhelming outing.
