That’s all for tonight. Be sure to check out the full report of Game 3 below and be sure to join us on Tuesday for live coverage of Game 4.
Final thoughts
@HunterFelt loving the coverage, but a shadow under threat has been growing in my mind... https://t.co/tWYPm9A3tT
— Part-Time PM 💭 (@Roscommon_Cat) October 5, 2020
Before this game, I’d say that Danny Green was well on track to pick up that ring. Now, however? Well, the Lakers are still favored, but it’s no longer a foregone conclusion. The battle continues in Tuesday’s Game 4 and we’ll be here liveblogging it at the Guardian.
That will put an end to today’s live coverage of the NBA Finals. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to follow along with us today.
Jimmy Butler
Butler put in one of the all-time Finals performances today and he’s the biggest reason that we will at least see a Game 5. His final numbers? He played 45 minutes, scored 40 points, picked up 11 rebounds along with 13 assists. Oh and two blocks and two steals. Take tomorrow off, Jimmy, you’ve earned it!
Email from Jose Cruz
Win or loss. ALWAYS Miami
You have to be happy for you team after that. That was one of the most improbable victories I have seen and this just might end up being a series after all if Miami can get one of their big guns back at some point.
Final: Lakers 104-115 Heat
Herro hits the free throw. LeBron misses on the other side. Butler gets the ball and gives it to Robinson who hits the three-pointer that effectively ends this one. Kuzma makes another basket to add to his stat sheet at list. Miami wait out the clock and we’re done. The Heat have somehow won Game 3!
Updated
Lakers 102-111 Heat, 58.6, 4th quarter
The Heat almost run away from a charging LeBron James. Not the best defense there, but it might not matter. Herro gets the basket and gets fouled. There’s less than a minute left here.
Lakers 100-109 Heat, 1:12, 4th quarter
Morris’s three-pointers have been keeping the Lakers into this one, so he goes to the well one more time. NOTHING THERE! That feels significant. Olynyk gets the rebound, Butler gets the ball and he hits an exclamation point of a basket that forces Los Angeles to take a timeout.
The clock, as they say, is not in the Lakers’ favor here.
Lakers 100-107 Heat, 1:47, 4th quarter
I have absolutely no idea how Jimmy Butler isn’t just completely gassed, but he’s back on the line. He calmly hits both free throws and the Heat have a seven point lead.
Lakers 100-105 Heat, 2:11, 4th quarter
Markieff Morris hits a three-pointer and the lead narrows. Still a lot of time here, although Butler is slowing things down until he picks up yet another foul.
Lakers 97-105 Heat, 2:48, 4th quarter
Butler goes to the line and he’s automatic. That’s two more points. Could this be happening?
Lakers 97-103 Heat, 3:41, 4th quarter
Butler adds to his point total with another long 2. Olynyk, however, fouls Kyle Kuzma almost immediately afterward. The Lakers get that two points back and almost no time has come off the clock.
Lakers 95-101 Heat, 4:10, 4th quarter
Hard to fault Miami for anything, bc they aren’t supposed to be here at this point in the game. They’ve missed soooo many bunnies, tho
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) October 5, 2020
This is true, a lot of wide-open shots here, but again, there’s a lot of role players here that have been forced to take a lot of these shots.
And just as I say that, Butler misses a solid look.
This is honestly the first time since a few minutes into Game 2 that I thought that the Heat had any chance of actually winning a game in this series. Yes I’m aware I could be jinxing them, I apologize in advance Heat fans.
Lakers 95-101 Heat, 4:40, 4th quarter
Herro with a two-pointer. That’s good. The Lakers manage yet another turnover, it’s on LeBron again, and that’s pretty good as well. Miami takes another timeout.
Lakers 95-99 Heat, 5:41, 4th quarter
17 points for Olynyk, that’s crazy. On the other end, Robinson picks up his fourth foul and this one puts KCP on the line. He misses the first, it’s to that point in the game where those can really come back to haunt a team, but he makes the second.
Lakers 94-99 Heat, 6:29, 4th quarter
There, Herro finally makes another three-pointer. The Heat might have survived the Lakers’ best counter-punch?
Nope, Kuzma responds with a three. This is going down-to-the-wire, clearly.
Or Kelly Olynyk can score again and the Lakers could turn it over again. LeBron gets called for a travel!
Lakers 91-94 Heat, 7:25, 4th quarter
How’s that for help? Butler find Olynyk who manages to hit another three-pointer. The Lakers give it up on the other end and Herro tries again to regain his three-point shot. He, uh, does not.
Lakers 91-91 Heat, 8:31, 4th quarter
Butler’s not giving up, he quickly ties things back up with a floater. He’s going to need some help, however. Even he can’t do it all here.
You work so hard, pour out all you have to build a lead and the Lakers basically just decide to flip a switch and go, “nah we’re effectively ending the series right now.”
Lakers 91-89 Heat, 8:54, 4th quarter
And there’s Playoff Rondo. LeBron finds the veteran point guard for the basket that puts the Lakers back upfront. In a mere matters of minutes, it feels like the Lakers have hit a devastating blow on this Heat team.
The Heat, now down by two, take a timeout and attempt to regroup.
Lakers 89-89 Heat, 9:30, 4th quarter
Olynyk, an unsung hero of this one, scores next and Crowder gets into the action next. The Lakers are still on their tails, however, as he launched a three-pointer.
AND ANOTHER ONE! TIE GAME!
Lakers 83-85 Heat, 11:05, 4th quarter
Alright one more quarter to go here. I have zero idea how this will go, which is all I could hope for heading into this game. LeBron James, of course, scores first, zooming through a completely empty lane where he gets fouled while scoring. He has a chance to cut the Miami lead to two which of course he does.
Lakers 80-85 Heat, end of the 3rd Quarter
Butler’s back up and feels good enough to take his free throws. He makes both. Now let’s see if Miami can make a stop here to end the corner.
They can’t, LeBron muscles his way to the basket for a score. Nothing the defense could do about that, in my opinion although the talking heads disagree with me.
Lakers 78-83 Heat, 21.3, 3rd Quarter
Morris with an airball. Robinson misses a wide-open shot. Kuzma hits another three and it’s a five point Miami lead. Butler goes to the rim and is fouled. Butler is on the floor, shaken up, and let’s hope that he’s okay here.
Lakers 75-83 Heat, 1:28, 3rd Quarter
Caruso, who was fouled by Nunn before that Miami timeout, makes one of two free throws. The Lakers corral the free throw rebound, but Rondo ends up not being able to cash it in at the basket. On the other end, Butler hits a long two to increase his team’s lead.
Davis, who is looking much better now, responds with back-to-back buckets. Heat lead is cut to eight in an instant.
Jimmy Butler is destroying every Lakers defender with the type of soullesness only seen from a man who would charge $20 for a cup of coffee.
— Silver Screen & Roll (@LakersSBN) October 5, 2020
Win or lose, I feel like he’s the MVP of this game. He’s absolutely taken his team on his shoulders at the exact time that they absolutely needed him to just to stay alive.
Lakers 70-81 Heat, 2:48, 3rd Quarter
Rondo goes for a shot that hits nothing, that’s a Rondo move that I’m familiar with from back during his days with the Celtics. Oh, and Olynyk makes another three which is something I’m very much not familiar with from back in his days with the Celtics.
The Heat, up by double digits again, call a timeout.
Lakers 70-78 Heat, 3:10, 3rd Quarter
AD is on the line for two free throws, which he gets. Olynyk takes a three, but isn’t as lucky this time around. Butler does get to the line, where he goes 1-for-2. The Heat abide.
Lakers 68-77 Heat, 4:22, 3rd Quarter
There’s Playoff Rondo, with his first shot of the game but once again the Butler has the answer.
Rondo finds AD and he hits another jumper, it looks like he’s heating up and that’s not the best of news, although it looks like they’re just trading buckets right now. Kelly Olynyk hits a three-pointer, helping Miami weather this particular storm.
Lakers 64-72 Heat, 5:16, 3rd Quarter
James gets to the basket and lays one in. Butler scores in response, it’s looking like a battle between two heavyweights today.
Lakers 62-70 Heat, 5:51, 3rd Quarter
Butler responds by drawing a foul on Green. It’s funny how players seem to trade fouls like this. Butler hits both, because he’s having one of those games.
Lakers 62-68 Heat, 6:12, 3rd Quarter
Robinson fouls KCP, who makes one of two free throws. Herro gets the rebound and attempts a three, but it’s no go. Davis has the ball again, there’s a bit of ball movement and Danny Green draws a foul to get on the line. He hits them both and it’s now just a six point lead.
Lakers 59-68 Heat, 6:47, 3rd Quarter
Caldwell-Pope, of all players, breaks the seal for the Lakers, with a three-pointer none-the-less. Crowder’s shot goes in and out, to give the Lakers another shot. Davis makes a shot, maybe that is a prelude of things to come.
Lakers 54-68 Heat, 7:54, 3rd Quarter
The announcers suggest that this might be an effort-issue on the Lakers part. Maybe they came in just thinking, “hey we got this series?” They’re definitely playing sloppier. Anyway, Leonard gets called for a foul, the first bit of good news for the Lakers this quarter. The officials discuss whether or not it was a flagrant foul which… that feels like a bit of a stretch. And referee Scott Foster says as much.
Lakers 54-68 Heat, 8:33, 3rd Quarter
Out of the timeout, Howard gets charged with an offensive foul. So that TO ended up being fruitless. Herro tries another three, nothing this time around. Lakers turn the ball over again and Herro cashes this one in. Wow.
Lakers 54-66 Heat, 9:17, 3rd Quarter
Herro ball! Tyler hits a three-pointer, assisted by Butler. The Lakers, still scoreless this quarter, are now down double-digits. They call a timeout to figure out exactly what is going on here.
Lakers 54-63 Heat, 10:15, 3rd Quarter
Anthony Davis picks up his fourth foul, early in the third. That could be massive, as massive as the dunk by Meyers Leonard. Miami up by nine.
Lakers 54-61 Heat, 10:55, 3rd Quarter
Duncan Robinson makes a three-pointer to start the second half scoring, so the Heat start off hot. So to speak.
Second half begins!
Alright, let’s see if Miami can pull this off!
What do the Lakers have to do? Well, they committed 14 turnovers in the first half, five of them committed by Anthony Davis, who scored the exact same number of points. They are only down 4. The Lakers cut the mistakes in half and Davis plays like a league-average forward and they probably come out of this with a win. Davis looks anything like he did these last two games and it’s a laugher by the fourth.
However, Miami has more of a chance than they probably could have hoped for heading in.
Lakers starters were hot garbage and yet they're only down 4. Underrated story is that Heat's bench has been outplayed in this series.
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) October 5, 2020
The Heat’s bench has been outplayed because there are two gigantic holes in the roster where two of their best starters normally are, which means their bench is effectively decimated.
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler is the leading scorer so far, which is really the only way that Miami is going to win. He’s got 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and two steals in a half. Weirdly enough, he’s one of the few players not to have hit a three-pointer. Go figure.
Halftime Thoughts
Despite being down two of their three best players, Jimmy Butler and the Heat have managed to take advantage of a sloppy Lakers first quarter and have given themselves a tiny lead. Of course, we all remember what happened to them in Game 1 where they looked to be in control only for the Lakers to absolutely blow them out in the second half. They can’t expect Anthony Davis to look this bad for the next two quarters and I guarantee you they’re smart enough to realize that.
Halftime! Heat up by 4!
Lakers 54-58 Heat, end of the first half
Tyler Herro is fouled and goes to the line, making both and that will do it for the scoring on the first half. The Miami Heat, improbably, have a four point lead!
Lakers 54-56 Heat, 30.9, 2nd quarter
Can’t say that Jimmy Butler hasn’t been doing all he can do to prevent his team from going home, he instantly scores on the other end, but LeBron one-ups him with a three-pointer.
Oh hey, Solomon Hill wants to get into the long-range shooting frenzy: he makes a three pointer. At this point. J.R. Smith is like “if they can do it, so can I.” An utterly ridiculous barrage.
Lakers 48-51 Heat, 1:39, 2nd quarter
Okay Crowder scores immediately. The Heat needed that and they’re also quite happy with the subsequent Butler basket.
Nunn then fouls Caruso, he has a chance to cut into the Heat lead which he does with two straight free throws.
Lakers 46-47 Heat, 3:10, 2nd quarter
Robinson then fouls Alex Caruso, who hits both free throws. The second nearly bounces out, adding a bit of drama. Butler misses a shot, Iguodala gets the rebound but Crowder throws it out of bounds. LeBron scores on the other end and it’s like Miami just can’t shake LA.
Lakers 42-47 Heat, 3:35, 2nd quarter
Butler realizes there’s not a bucket available so he tries to draw a foul, but instead goes out of bounds and turns it over. Morris dunk on the other end and the Heat’s excellent run has…
Never mind, Duncan Robinson hits a three. That will cure a lot of your team’s ails.
Lakers 40-44 Heat, 4:27, 2nd quarter
Nunn slips, JR Smith steals the ball and James makes it to the other end with a basket and he draws a foul. Of course, he makes the free throw and of course, that will be enough for Miami to cash in a timeout.
Lakers 37-44 Heat, 4:44, 2nd quarter
Lakers on offense coming out of the break, let’s see if they’ve calmed the waters. Morris… misses a three but so does Crowder. A do-over as Davis gets the rebound…
And he’s charged with an offensive foul, a dubious charge call. That’s a third foul and a Lakers turnover. AD is back on the bench. On the other end, Nunn hits a pullup jumper to take advantage.
Lakers 37-42 Heat, 6:05, 2nd quarter
Rondo with a “no, no, no, NO” three-pointer. Butler scores again and that’s nine straight points for the Heat and that’s a Lakers timeout.
Lakers 37-40 Heat, 6:32, 2nd quarter
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, not the most popular Laker (to put it mildly) misses a three and then gets called for a foul. Morris then fouls Butler to put him on the line. He makes both, the Heat add to their lead.
Lakers 37-38 Heat, 6:45, 2nd quarter
Miami gets going here, Crowder shows off his long-distance range by hitting a three and Butler hits a jumper to put them ahead by the slimmest of the margins.
Lakers 37-33 Heat, 8:00, 2nd quarter
Rondo finds Davis, this time for a dunk! Wowzers, they might have got him going finally.
Oh and Nunn did something good, he hits a jumper… that’s immediately answered with a three pointer from LA’s Alex Caruso.
Lakers 32-31 Heat, 8:36, 2nd quarter
And Davis breaks the seal with a three pointer, an assist from Playoff Rondo. Lakers back up front BUT Danny Brown fouls Butler and gives him a chance to tie things up.
He, alas, only makes one of two.
It’s difficult to argue with this:
It’s really sucks for everyone watching because it seems these finals could’ve been fun and competitive send off to the bubble if those injuries didn’t happen.
— E’Twaun Paramoore (@Marco_Romo) October 5, 2020
Anthony Davis has not attempted a single shot and, as you probably would expect, has yet to score. The Heat should feel good about this, but despite that they’re only up by a single point and they can’t expect that to last much longer. The Lakers are staying in this thanks to their bench.
Lakers 29-30 Heat, 9:00, 2nd quarter
Nunn gets called for a foul, his unfortunate game continues on. The Lakers leave an open lane for Crowder, who gets a layup while remaining untouched. LA head coach Frank Vogel doesn’t like this one bit and calls a timeout.
Lakers 29-28 Heat, 10:09, 2nd quarter
Kuzma gets fouled on a hook shot and he’s going to get a chance at an old-fashioned three. Which he cashes in.
Lakers 26-28 Heat, 11:02, 2nd quarter
And Morris hits another three so there goes that Miami lead. This has to be absolutely deflating, but Iguodala does hit a basket on the other end.
“Hey Ya” is playing during this car commercial and I have the horrifying realization that this song is to me what like, the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around” was to my parents when growing up.
Lakers 23-26 Heat, end of the 1st quarter
Markieff Morris gets the Lakers another three-pointer and they are starting to creep up on Miami. Kuzma gets called for a foul and after a brief discussion among officials, Olynyk goes to the line for two free throws, both of which he makes.
Morris tries to respond with a three, it’s no good but he gets Olynyk to bite and is rewarded with three free throws. Not how you wanna close out a quarter if you’re Miami. Morris makes two out three and, on their very last possession, Kuzma hits another three. The Heat played maybe the perfect first quarter the Lakers committed a ridiculous number of turnovers, and they are up by… three measly points.
Lakers 15-24 Heat, 1:21, 1st quarter
Hey, the Lakers get their first three-pointer, courtesy of Kyle Kuzma. Butler responds with a 10-foot shot. Kuzma’s next three attempt isn’t as true
Lakers 12-22 Heat, 2:30, 1st quarter
A shot of Anthony Anderson among the Virtual Fans. I’m so glad to be alive in a world where Philip K Dick’s short stories are starting to come true.
And back to the game and we have the 10th Lakers turnover! We’re not even in the second quarter.
Miami’s Kendrick Nunn has had the ball twice and he’s turned it over both times.
Also not ideal.
Lakers 12-22 Heat, 3:03, 1st quarter
And in a blink, he’s back on the line. That’s a foul on Solomon Hill, who just barely got in the game, and this time LeBron makes both. The Heat take a timeout.
Lakers 10-22 Heat, 3:28, 1st quarter
Time for James to make something happen and he draws a tripping foul to get on the line. He makes one of two free throws, his shot looks a little off.
Lakers 9-22 Heat, 4:03, 1st quarter
Anthony Davis picks up another foul, this on the defensive end. Kelly Olynyk (do they have all of the former Celtics?) is on the line for Miami, he makes both.
Lakers 9-20 Heat, 4:48, 1st quarter
Another AD turnover and Jimmy Butler hits a layup on the other side. Just the worst possible start for LA here… and now AD gets called for an offensive foul.
Lakers 9-18 Heat, 5:26, 1st quarter
Davis hasn’t taken a shot yet and the Lakers turn it over twice more. Dwight Howard fouls Duncan Robinson, who makes two free throws.
Lakers 9-16 Heat, 7:00, 1st quarter
And they commit another turnover, as Anthony Davis loses a ball out of bounds. The Heat can’t take advantage on their end and Crowder picks up his second foul, putting LeBron on the free throw line. He misses the first but makes the second.
Andre Iguodala is in to replace Crowder.
Four Lakers turnovers already, maybe they were reading the pre-game hype. They can’t keep the Heat for granted, even if they are missing their 2nd and 3rd best players.
Lakers 8-16 Heat, 7:31, 1st quarter
And then Jae Crowder hits another three, if the Heat are going to win they’re going to have to be making those consistently.
James finds Dwight Howard for a dunk as a response… and then straight scores from Miami: Leonard, Duncan Robinson and Butler all score with Butler’s dunk being enough to force the Lakers into an early timeout.
Lakers 6-7 Heat, 8:55, 1st quarter
Okay Meyers Leonard is going to make the first three-pointer of the game, I would not have bet on that. The Heat are now in front.
Lakers 6-4 Heat, 10:10, 1st quarter
Tyler Herro responds to get the Heat on the board. James hits two shots, in-between a Jimmy Butler dunk.
Opening Tip
Lakers 2-0 Heat, 11:34, 1st quarter
Dwight Howard with a layup to get things started.
So what are we watching this game for, anyway? Well, in the absence of a realistic chance at drama, the broadcast is emphasizing just how amazing LeBron and AD have been this series. The latest spin has been that Davis is the best player that James has every played with.
This may not be an explicit dismissal of Kyrie Irving, but I’m taking it to be one.
Alright the preshow is over, we’re going to get some real basketball shortly. “Most people think (the Heat) are going to get swept,” Mike Breen says.
That is very much correct but this is not really the best way to introduce this broadcast to the casual fans.
And now they are comparing LeBron and AD to Kobe and Shaq. I’m not quite sold, if only because they don’t seem to utterly despise each other off the court.
The best part of the Finals being on ABC is that those of us who have been watching ESPN and TNT nonstop throughout this Bubble Season are finally getting a break from the 10 or so commercials that have been running nonstop the last few months. I am sure Idina Menzel is a lovely person but I do not want to hear her singing “taxidermy” ever again.
The Tweet that sums up the first two games of the 2020 Finals:
lakers fans, i am glad y’all are having fun but literally nobody else is
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) October 3, 2020
Adam Silver is talking with Rachel Nichols on the pregame show now, talking about when the next season will begin. He’s saying that the earliest would be Christmas, but it’s far more likely that it would later than that. He points out it’s based on events well out of the league’s control.
“The virus will decide,” he says. Maybe our leaders will figure that out eventually, but I’m just a lowly blogger so what do I know?
A true wise man is he who knows that he knows nothing:
For two days I’ve had people asking me if the Heat can win Game 3. Hey I had Clippers over the Bucks in the Finals.
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) October 4, 2020
Well, I had Lakers over Bucks, so like half-credit for me?
Predictions
Okay, so let’s get this out of the way” this game is almost certainly going to be another blowout win for the Lakers. The Heat might be able to keep it close until halftime, but eventually, LA will bury them. I have never been more confident in my life. Does anybody think the Heat win another game in this series? Will we even have a tight final score in either tonight’s game or Tuesday’s Game 4?
If you believe, I’d love to hear your arguments because goodness knows it’s a lot more fun to liveblog when there’s actually some drama going on. Despite all odds, the NBA Bubble has been a huge success and a welcome distraction when I think we have all desperately needed one, and it would be a shame if it ended with an anticlimactic, onesided Finals that was mostly decided by injuries. You can chime in either through email (to Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (to @HunterFelt).
Throughout their time in the Bubble (a.k.a. Walt Disney World in Orlando), NBA players have been going out of their way to express themselves. So it makes sense that the Lakers’ Anthony Davis showed up for Game 3 wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey.
Sunday Best pic.twitter.com/KUYFqsSsxg
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 4, 2020
WNBA Finals
Meanwhile, in the WNBA Finals, the Seattle Storm took a 2-0 series lead over the Las Vegas Aces with a 104-91 win. Since this is a five-game series, there’s a very good chance that the Storm could wrap up the WNBA season in Tuesday’s Game 3. Combine that with the knowledge that the Lakers could also be looking to clinch a title that day, it’s well within the realm of possibility that this will serve as the end of basketball for the foreseeable future. I won’t lie, that’s a tad bit of a bummer. (Although goodness knows there’s enough going on in the rest of the world to keep us occupied.)
Preamble
Not to overstate things, but this might be a particularly important game for the Miami Heat, who have dropped their first two games against the Los Angeles Lakers here in the NBA Finals. Why? Well, here’s a complete list of NBA teams who have dropped 0-3 in a seven-game series and gone on to win the whole thing:
Yes, that’s correct, not a single team has done it and it would be a massive undertaking against this Lakers team in particular. It hasn’t helped that Miami didn’t have Bam Adebayo, dealing with a neck injury, or Goran Dragic, who has a plantar fascia injury, in Game 2. Leader Jimmy Butler has been forced to deal with a very thin lineup as they attempted to pull off what was always going to be a tall task.
Adebayo and Dragic have both been listed as “out” for tonight’s game, meaning that Butler is going to have to carry the team, someone else on the Heat will have to rise to the occasion and, well, the Lakers have a sloppy game. Even if the Heat play at the best of their abilities, it may not be enough. LeBron James is looking for his fourth championship and Anthony Davis might have already clinched the Finals MVP. The talent disparity might just be too great for it to make much of a difference.
Still, that’s why they play the games, as they say. As always, we want to hear from you throughout today’s NBA Finals action: what are your thoughts on the Finals, or this entire strange basketball season? Send them to us, either via email (to Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or on Twitter (to @HunterFelt). We’ll use them here. It’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers! We’re scheduled to start around 7:30pm EST, but I’ll be back before then.
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s what happened in Game 2:
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 shorthanded Miami Heat 124-114 on Friday night. The Lakers shot 51%, making 16 consecutive shots from two-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.
