Jimmy Butler erupted for 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to record his first career playoff triple-double, helping the Miami Heat get back into the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 115-104 win Sunday night, and shrinking Los Angeles’ series lead to 2-1.
Still playing shorthanded with all-star Bam Adebayo and starting point guard Goran Dragic both out with injury, the Heat were facing as close to a must-win scenario as possible without being on the verge of elimination, as no team in NBA Finals history has come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Miami got exactly the kind of effort that was needed to keep its championship aspirations alive, playing with far more urgency and desperation than the lackadaisical-looking Lakers.
Here are a few takeaways from a big Heat victory in Game 3 of the Finals.
Jimmy Badass
Here’s something to put the magnitude of Butler’s triple-double into context: He’s just the third player to record a 40-point triple-double in the Finals in league history, joining LeBron James in Game 5 of the 2015 Finals and Jerry West in Game 7 way back in 1969.
That’s pretty good company.
Even more impressive was how efficient he was in doing all his damage, shooting 14-of-20 from the floor, 12-for-14 from the free-throw line and, as a true nod to his throwback-style game, not even taking a single-three-point shot.
Instead, he elected to get all the way to the basket or to slither into open pockets of space 12–15 feet out — usually in the painted area — to put up fadeaways and hooks over defenders he was able to shake loose with his superior footwork.
Butler started the game aggressively, looking to get to his spots and score and facilitate when he was prevented from getting to his pet areas of the floor, and he was rewarded by what was probably the greatest game of his entire life — not that he actually cares about his own individual brilliance, mind you.
“Winning. I don’t care about a triple-double, I don’t care about none of that, I really don’t,” Butler told sideline reporter Rachel Nichols after the game when asked of his magnificent performance. “I want to win. We did that and I’m happy with the outcome.”
Win the Heat certainly did, and they wouldn’t have been able to without Butler.
Lakers superstars falter
After being the talk of the Finals over the first two games and looking like the Finals MVP frontrunner, Anthony Davis was awful in Game 3, scoring 15 points and grabbing just five rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting, while recording a team-worst minus-26 rating on the evening.
James, on the other hand, looked to have another strong game with a 25-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist night, but he disappeared down the stretch when the Lakers needed him most, committing two travelling violations midway through the fourth quarter and proceeding to go 1-for-4 the rest of the way in the frame — and even turning the ball over two more times afterwards.
For the contest, James committed eight turnovers, tying his career-worst mark in the Finals, and his loose handle was indicative of a troubling trend for the Lakers all night long on Sunday as they turned the ball over 20 times total, allowing the Heat to score 21 points off those mistakes.
In particular, the first quarter set the tone for this Los Angeles letdown as the Lakers turned the ball over 10 times for 11 Miami points, with James committing four turnovers alone in that opening frame.
The Lakers lost despite getting 53 points from their bench, tied for the 2nd-most bench points in an NBA Finals game since starters were first tracked in 1970-71
Davis coughed up the rock four times himself in the first quarter and, even worse for the Lakers, he picked up two early fouls in the first quarter, leading to an off night that saw him unable to get into a rhythm because of how much Lakers head coach was forced to sit him.
Regardless of the circumstance, however, the Lakers needed more from their two superstars and the bottom line is on Sunday they didn’t deliver.
Yes, Butler was playing out of his mind, but twice the Lakers cut a 14-point Miami lead in the contest to either take the lead or get back into striking distance and Los Angeles couldn’t get the job done because their two big dogs couldn’t get themselves unleashed.
If the Lakers are to eventually close out this series as most expect they will, they can’t afford slippage like this again from Davis and James.
Heat role players show out
A best-case scenario for the Heat heading into Game 4 would be the return of Adebayo and Dragic to the lineup, their second- and third-best players, respectively.
However, to bank on those two players’ return would be to bank on a serious ‘what if’ and wouldn’t be the most prudent thing to do.
Thankfully, the players who have attempted to fill the void in their absence have made good so far on the increased opportunity and Game 3 was a shining example of this.
After a magnificent 24-point, nine-rebound performance in Game 2, Canadian Kelly Olynyk scored 17 points and collected seven rebounds while going 3-for-5 from three-point range — including a clutch triple with just about eight minutes to play in the fourth to put Miami back up three after Los Angeles had briefly taken the lead a couple possessions beforehand.
Olynyk’s three-point shooting and his all-around offensive skill has proven to be something Heat coach Erik Spoelstra can rely upon in these Finals to give his team a spark, so it’ll be interesting to see how Olynyk will continue to be used should Adebayo manage to return.
And after going just 3-for-13 for 11 points in the first three quarters, Heat rookie Tyler Herro helped close out the win for Miami Sunday, scoring eight in the fourth quarter on 3-for-5 shooting, including a magnificent reverse and-one layup that will surely see the sneer he was caught doing afterwards turn him into a meme legend.
Herro’s confidence in himself is so unwavering it almost seems unfathomable, but with Dragic out of the lineup, they need someone who can get his own shot and is unafraid to launch them — and he certainly fits the bill.
He hasn’t been as efficient as they probably want him to be, but as his fourth-quarter performance in Game 3 showed, he can get hot and fill it up at a moment’s notice, and when he does, the Heat usually benefit greatly.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
