Video Credit: NBA

Recap: Lakers vs Heat – NBA Finals – Game 1

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Los Angeles Lakers (13-3)  |  Miami Heat (12-4)

 

The Lakers finished the first half of the game with a strong 65-48 lead.

 

 

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports

The Lakers decided to start Dwight Howard, which a lot of people expected based on how he did as the starter against the Nuggets.

The Heat controlled the early first half of this game. The Lakers struggled to hit their shots while the Heat kept hitting threes, as they have done throughout the playoffs. Jae Crowder and Tyler Herro both had hot starts.

The Heat led 23-10, but that lead was short-lived. Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would hit a few threes, which sparked the start of a comeback. Bam Adebayo and Herro started to struggle at this point. The Heat couldn’t recover as the Lakers went on an 18-3 run in the last three minutes of the first quarter. Miami missed their final five field-goal attempts to end the first quarter.

The score after the first quarter was 31-28, in favor of the Lakers.

 

 

The Lakers continued their dominance in the second quarter of the game.

 

 

Photo Credit: Silver Screen and Roll

In the early second, Herro hit two threes in a row, giving the Heat a 43-41 lead. It was short-lived again as Green hit one back to spark the momentum towards the Lakers’ way. After a stop for the Lakers, Anthony Davis hit a three-pointer to take a 47-41 lead. The Lakers went on a 13-0 run from there, which ended when Jimmy Butler hit a layup with 3:40 left in the quarter.

Again, Green hit a momentum-stealing three to quiet the Heat’s advance. With 12 seconds left in the half, Jimmy Butler rolled his ankle and was taken back to the locker room. 

The Lakers stars of the half were Davis and LeBron James. James had trouble driving in the paint as he put up only 9 points shooting 2 for six from the floor. He made up for it with seven assists and six rebounds. Davis was 7 for 11 from the floor with 18 points and four rebounds as he hustled and relied on paint dominance more than his mid-range. A big reason the Lakers finished the half with such a big lead was the fact that they shot 64.7 percent from three.

 

 

The Lakers easily finished off the Heat in game one, winning 116-98.

 

 

Photo Credit: Blog

The Lakers continued their dominance as James started to score more from drives in the paint, and Davis became the bully. The Lakers three-point percentages lowered to 39.5, but that did not matter. They clearly outmatched the Heat this game. 

The main story of the second half was injuries. Miami announced that in the second quarter, Goran Dragic hurt his left ankle and would not be able to return for the entire game. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski later reported that Dragic sustained a plantar tear in his left foot. His return in the series is unclear. Bam Adebayo reaggravated his left shoulder that he hurt during the previous series. He strained his shoulder and did not return for the rest of the game. An X-ray came back negative. 

As for the Lakers, Caldwell-Pope was seen lying on his back being attended by medical personnel. Reporters said he was fine and could have returned to the game if the Lakers needed him to. Rajon Rondo hurt his eye, but he was fine as well. 

The Lakers’ players of the game were James and Davis. James picked up his scoring as he finished the game with 25 points, shooting 9 for 17 from the floor. He also managed to record 13 rebounds and nine assists. Davis bullied the paint, scoring 34 points, shooting 11 for 21 from the floor. He also grabbed nine rebounds in the process.

 

 

The Heat were clearly outmatched in game one. The Lakers had only a couple players performing at a subpar level. Everybody else did their job perfectly, especially James and Davis who led the team to victory. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at 6:00 pm and it airs on ABC.

 

 

 

NBA Finals schedule (All times PT)

  • Game 1 – Lakers 116 – Heat 98
  • Game 2 – Friday, October 2, 6 p.m.—ABC
  • Game 3 – Sunday, October 4, 4:30 p.m.—ABC
  • Game 4 – Tuesday, October 6, 6 p.m.—ABC
  • Game 5* – Friday, October 9, 6 p.m.—ABC
  • Game 6* – Sunday, October 11, 4:30 p.m.—ABC
  • Game 7* – Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 p.m.—ABC

*If required

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-Kyle Randolph – Franchise Sports Media

      

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