The Miami Heat led every series in the NBA Playoffs 2020 and never trailed once. However, they are trailing behind in the NBA Finals after losing the series opener, which the Lakers won 116-98. 

Center Dwight Howard started in only his third game since the conference finals. He got 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes of play. The bench complimented the star duo as well as they could, but it was this 6’5” guard who did the trick for them.

Breathing life into the Lakers’ scoreboard!

A first-quarter lead usually adds to nothing because most games witness tossing and turning in the following quarters. Still, when it is the NBA Finals, every quarter, every minute, every possession counts big. Missing one shot from the downtown can prove costly when the team loses by a margin of one.

In the first game, the Miami Heat started their campaign with forward Jae Crowder scoring a three. Anthony Davis gave the same treatment to the Heat with his three-pointer in response. But in no time, the Lakers were trailing 12-25, and the pressure began to mount. That’s when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope decided to take matters into his hands and converted two shots from behind the arc, pulling the Lakers back into the game.

Anthony Davis gave complete credit for this to KCP during the court-side interview. He expressed, “They’ve got a lot of guys who make play for them. They came out very hot. We came out slow. KCP saved us. He hit two big-threes in the first quarter and got us going. We kind of picked it up on both ends of the floor.”

Adding to the praise about the bench, he claimed, “They’re gonna give us shot like that, we’re gonna knock ‘em down.” 

Danny Green looked equally promising!

The Lakers won the initial three quarters, and the credit goes not just to the star duo, but also to the likes of Danny Green and KCP. The Deadshot dropped triple three-pointers, with shot field goals at 44.4% accuracy. On the other hand, KCP’s 13 points had 5 free-throws at 100% accuracy.

Kyle Kuzma surely struggled with his field-goal attempts, but Alex Caruso covered for him. Both Rajon Rondo and Caruso remained good from the paint. As a result, the Lakers had a huge margin in their victory. LeBron James’ double-double was phenomenal, but AD was flawless. The 27-YO had 10/10 FTs, just one turnover, and 23 +/-. If he continues this way, Jimmy Butler’s men will need much more than double-teaming to stop him.