The old saying in basketball goes – you live by the three and you die by the three. The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat took note of that Wednesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Lakers defeated the Heat, 116-98, to take an early series lead.
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Los Angeles led by as much as 32 points during the game. Miami gave the Lakers a tiny scare in the final quarter, cutting the lead down to 12 points but Los Angele was ultimately able to prevail.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis (3) led all scorers with 32 points. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Anthony Davis led the way with 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists. LeBron James nearly got another triple-double. He finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
It was the three-point shooting that was the key. Los Angeles at one point was 13-for-20 from beyond the arc. They finished 15-for-38 as they began to take their foot off the gas pedal. On the other side, Miami was 11-for-35 from deep.
Miami didn’t get much from its young players like Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. Herro had 14 points in 30 minutes off the bench. Robinson was 0-for-3 from deep. Those were the only shots he took.
Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler twisted his ankle in the game. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Heat also got hit with the injury bug. Goran Dragic left the game with what was being called a foot injury. Bam Adebayo left in the third quarter with a shoulder strain and Jimmy Butler twisted his ankle and wasn’t the same. He finished with 23 points – leading the Heat.
Los Angeles takes a 1-0 series lead.
The two teams face-off again Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
