LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Anthony Davis got most of his points with a feathery shooting touch. LeBron James flexed his muscle to bulldoze his way to damage. And whenever the lead looked even the tiniest bit threatened, the Los Angeles Lakers had an answer.
The NBA Finals are halfway to a coronation.
James finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Davis made 14 of his first 15 shots on the way to 32 points, and the Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the title series by beating the short-handed Miami Heat 124-114 on Friday night. The Lakers shot 51%, making 16 consecutive shots from 2-point range in a stretch that started late in the first quarter and ended late in the third.
James and Davis were the first Lakers duo to score at least 32 points in a finals game since Game 3 against New Jersey in 2002, when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant did it.
“It’s very humbling that we can be even mentioned with those greats,” James said.
Shaq and Kobe got rings that year.
James and Davis are two wins away.
“Those guys are playing at an extremely high level, and hopefully we can get two more wins,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
Jimmy Butler finished with 25 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for Miami, which played without injured starters Bam Adebayo (neck and left shoulder) and Goran Dragic (torn left plantar fascia). The Heat scored 39 points in the third quarter and that was only good enough to cut a 14-point halftime deficit to a 10-point hole going into the fourth, mainly because they just couldn’t get enough stops.
“Look, I love these guys. I love the way we compete,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have to figure out how to overcome this and get over the top.
Game 3 is Sunday night. It’s unclear if Dragic, Adebayo or both could return; each lobbied to play Friday night, before the Heat had to make the call to keep them sidelined.
It’s also unclear how much it will matter.
This is the 24th time that James has had a 2-0 series lead; his teams in Cleveland, Miami and L.A. are 23-0 in the previous instances. And the last time the Lakers’ franchise has wasted a 2-0 lead was in the 1969 finals against Boston.
“Until we win four games, we haven’t accomplished our goal,” Lakers guard Alex Caruso said. “It’s been over a year together and we’ve talked about the same goal from Day One. We’re still here chasing that same goal. Until we get four wins, we’re staying hungry.”
Kelly Olynyk scored 24 points for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 32 in Game 1 and — even without Adebayo and Dragic — were far more competitive in Game 2. Miami got within nine points in the fourth, but never got close enough to truly put a scare into the Lakers.
“Maybe we’ve just got to play a lot harder, to know that’s how we’re going to squeak out a win in the end,” Butler said. “There really isn’t too much to say to our guys. We understand what we have to do.”
Tyler Herro had 17, Kendrick Nunn scored 13 and Jae Crowder had 12 for the Heat. Herro and Meyers Leonard took Dragic’s and Adebayo’s spots in the starting lineup.
“We had it right there on the edge, but we just couldn’t push it over,” Olynyk said. “We can build on that.”
Rajon Rondo had 16 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma each had 11 for the Lakers — who improved to 4-0 in these playoffs when wearing the Kobe Bryant-inspired “Black Mamba” uniforms, one of many tributes to the Lakers legend who died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash.
“This is what it’s all about,” James said. “We’re thinking about the Bryant family … and hopefully we’re making them proud.”
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami led for 53 seconds in the first quarter and have led for 10:44 out of 96 minutes played in the series. … The Heat have rallied from a 2-0 series hole only once in eight previous tries, that one being the 2006 NBA Finals. … Spoelstra collided with official Eric Lewis while trying to call time with 7:49 left. They both got a laugh out of it.
Lakers: Jeanie Buss, the team’s owner and president, was in the bubble for the game. … Flea, the bassist from the Red Hot Chili Peppers — formed in Los Angeles — performed the national anthem. … James, in his 10th NBA Finals, has a 2-0 lead in the title series for the first time. … The Lakers took a season-high 47 3s, making 16.
YOUNGEST STARTER
Herro, at 20 years, 256 days, became the youngest player to start an NBA Finals game. He did so eight days younger than Magic Johnson was when he started Game 1 of the title series for the Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 4, 1980. They’re the only 20-year-olds to start; Tony Parker is the third-youngest, at 21 years, 18 days for San Antonio in Game 1 against New Jersey on June 4, 2003.
CLUTCH 3’S
The Lakers had a knack in the second half for making clutch 3’s whenever it seemed like Miami was poised to threaten. Rondo made a 3 with 37.2 seconds left in the third to push a nine-point lead back to 12, Kuzma connected 47 seconds into the fourth to make the lead 13 and, with the Heat within nine, Markieff Morris hit with 9:41 left to make it 111-99.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
