LA takes commanding lead over Miami
The Los Angeles Lakers were able to take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Miami Heat after a game four victory. Lebron James and Anthony Davis led the way, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was able to make some clutch buckets.
Lebron led the way for the Lakers, putting up 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on 8-16 shooting. Davis added 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocks on 8-16 shooting. While Caldwell-Pope gave the Lakers a much needed third option, putting up 15 points and five assists. However, Caldwell-Pope had a clutch three and a nice drive late in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers made an interesting adjustment, inserting Markieff Morris into the lineup as a small ball five and completely benching Dwight Howard. It will be interesting to see how Miami plans to counter this going forward.
Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami with a near triple-double. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on 8-17 shooting. Tyler Herro continued his hot streak adding 21 points and seven rebounds on 8-18 shooting. Bam Adebayo had 15 points and seven rebounds in his return from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the last two games.
The game was evenly matched as both teams finished basically tied in every stat category. However, the three-point shooting was key. The Lakers won by six points and made three more threes’ than Miami.
A big story in the first half was the Lakers’ turnover problems. More specifically Lebron’s turnover problems. He committed five first half turnovers and was careless with the basketball. However, he tightened up in the second half, committing just one turnover.
Even with the return of Adebayo, the Heat got nothing from their bench. The Heat bench shot a combined 4-18 from the field. Kendrick Nunn in particular, looked uncomfortable, shooting just 2-11. Nunn finished second in Rookie of the Year voting but has looked lost when on the court in the playoffs.
If the Heat wish to keep their season alive, they need to take better care of the ball. They finished with 15 turnovers and had three players commit at least three turnovers.
Both teams will receive a deserved two-day break, as they get ready for game five which will be on Friday.