Former NBA Player Puts the Blame on Kyle Kuzma for Lakers’ Loss to Heat

Game 5 of the NBA Finals was an intense matchup between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. The purple and gold needed a win to lift the championship, but the Heat fought back tremendously to seal the win. Danny Green had an open three in the final seconds to win the game, but missed. But it is unfair to pile all the blame on Green, isn’t it? 

Miami came into the game fired up as ever. Their leader Jimmy Butler once again put on a show and notched up 35.0 points during the process. Butler’s now the sixth player in history to have multiple triple-doubles in an NBA finals series. 

Miami largely dominated the first half, outsourcing the Lakers by 60-56. However, LeBron James guided his team to a successful comeback, but fell just short of the finish line. James put up a 40.0 point performance, but it just wasn’t enough for the purple and gold.

The Lakers have been clinical whenever they sport the ‘Black Mamba’ jerseys, but the Game 5 loss marks the first-ever defeat while sporting them. Though Anthony Davis performed better than his previous game’s display, the Heat shot better from all sides of the court. 

The second half went pretty competitive. Though Miami carried the lead late till the third quarter, the Lakers were testing their opponents largely. With just 30 seconds left in the 3rd, the Heat were up by two points when Jimmy Butler passed the ball to Duncan Robinson to complete a beautiful play.

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost Game 5: Who is to blame? 

Robinson, in his true nature, grabbed and instantly made the shot from behind the three-point line. The terrific play worked, and the ball went into the basket, earning them valuable three-points. But that’s not it. Robinson was fouled by Kyle Kuzma while shooting, which turned it around into a four-point play. 

With just 37.0 seconds on the clock, Robinson made the shot and earned the Heat a priceless lead. Kuzma was not thrilled that he gave the foul and questioned the authenticity of the officials’ call. However, Robinson evidently knew it was a foul and allegedly uttered, “Hell yea, that’s a fu**ing foul,” to Kuzma. 

On the other hand, if Danny Green made the open three in the final second of the fourth, the Lakers would be champions by now. But he missed the most important shot of his career, which wasn’t well-received by the fans. But people like Kendrick Perkins believe that Kuzma is to be blamed more than Green. 

“Everyone looks at the last shot of the game and trying to point the finger at Danny Green…but forget about the 4 point play Kuzma gave up,” Perkins wrote. He also mentioned the flagrant foul given up by Dwight Howard in the third quarter, but that holds less significance. 

At the end of the day, Miami clawed their way back into the series with a 111-108 victory. It gets interesting from here, as Butler and co. will try to force a Game 7 when they walk onto the court next time.