USA Today via Reuters
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James blocks the pass by Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler during the fourth quarter in game two of the 2020 NBA Finals. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James blocks the pass by Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler during the fourth quarter in game two of the 2020 NBA Finals. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Heat got it all right in Game 3. They humiliated the Lakers with a 115-104 win as Jimmy Butler’s men won every single quarter. This can’t be seen as an easy win because the Lakers were ahead at one point in the last quarter.
Jimmy Butler’s game 3 performance was so good that the figures can be broken into two halves and they will still appear great. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis scored 15 points, 5 rebs, and 3 assists. This is worse than half of Jimmy’s illustrious triple-double.
Jimmy Butler gave his critics a fitting answer
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When the Miami Heat were 0-2 down, fans and NBA analysts showed no faith in the franchise. But the underdogs soon proved them wrong by biting the favorites. Jimmy Butler’s stellar performance of 40 points, 11 rebs, 13 assists, 2 assists, and 2 blocks with an FG accuracy of 70% has got him in the history books of NBA Finals.
Jimmy Butler joins Jerry West, James Worthy, Charles Barkley, Steph Curry and LeBron James (5x) as the only players in NBA history with a 30-point triple-double in the Finals, per @Stathead.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) October 5, 2020
It was a 40-point triple-double for the Miami great. Matching the likes of Jerry West, James Worthy, Charles Barkley, Steph Curry, and LeBron James is suggestive of his greatness. He also matched a rare Michael Jordan record.
The first player to post 32 points & 12 assists in an NBA Finals game since Michael Jordan (per @bball_ref):
Jimmy Buckets.@MiamiHEAT 101 – @Lakers 95 with under five minutes to go 🍿
📺: @ABC pic.twitter.com/8tLi5WGjIH
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) October 5, 2020
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Jimmy had 19 points in the first half and 21 in the second. There was no stopping this guy who played for 45 minutes, putting every ounce of his energy on the line. Watch this clip where Jimmy Butler survived yet another potential injury:
Decent help from the Miami Heat bench
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Funnily enough, Butler seems to have got most of his help from Danny Green. The Deadshot scored 2 points in his over 15 minutes of play with zero field goals and all his three-pointer attempts going off the target. Danny was all miss and not one hit in Game 3. The entire Lakers bench remained quiet, with the exception of Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris’s 19 points with a combined 9/19 three-pointers.
Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk had a great night as they remained strong at both defense as well as offense. The Miami Heat now have a real chance to level the series as they’ve proved their worth against the Lakers.
