Winning Game 2 was a difficult task for the Miami Heat, especially considering that they were missing leading scorer Goran Dragic and their top assist man and interior defender in Bam Adebayo.
They kept it close in the opening quarter, but the Lakers were locked in and focused on both ends of the floor.
The Heat shot shakily from the floor to start at 41.2% compared to the Lakers’ 54.2%, but kept it close by making 6 of 7 free throws. The Lakers missed their solitary free throw.
By the end of the quarter, it was 29-23 for LA.
The Lakers started off strong in the second quarter, quickly pushing their lead to 40-27 as the Heat continued to struggle and force up tough three pointers.
LA had the game in control by the end of the first half with 68-54 lead. Anthony Davis had 15 points, LeBron James had 12, and their role players contributed an important 41 points at the break.
The Lakers dominated most of the third quarter, but Heat made a run toward the end of the period to briefly cut it to single digits at 100-91 with less than a minute left on the clock.
The Heat never got it to single digits again, though. The Lakers held on for a 124-114 win, marking the first time LeBron James has had a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
Considering how well the Lakers had played overall, it was surprising that the Heat were only down 103-93 heading into the fourth.
Davis finished the game with 32 points and 14 rebounds. James had another great game as well with 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
Rajon Rondo was again in playoff mode, contributing 16 points and 10 assists and continuing to show his improved three-point shooting. He made three of four of his shots from deep.
The Heat stayed in the game for extended periods because they shot 31 of 34 from the charity stripe, and they shot double the amount for the Lakers.
Lakers took crazy amount of three pointers, more than any team in finals history with 47. They didn’t really hit a great clip at 34% but made up for it with 16 offensive rebounds.
Jimmy Butler played well, with 25 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists. Kelly Olynyk also provided 22 points. However, the Heat will need much better defense and rebounding to think about stealing even one game from the series.
