How did the Heat lose Game 4 to Lakers? A look at three pivotal minutes. And other takeaways
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 102-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Los Angeles holds a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series:
LeBron’s dominant fourth quarter leads Lakers past Heat. Miami down to its last chance
The Heat was very, very close to tying the series 2-2. Instead, the Lakers find themselves just one win away from their first NBA championship since 2010.
While the Lakers led for most of the second half, the Heat kept it close. The game was tied at 83 with 6:27 to play and Miami found itself trailing by just two points with 3:39 to play.
But it was the Lakers that won the final three minutes of the game to earn the victory and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Los Angeles outscored Miami 12-8 over this critical three-minute stretch, which included five important points from guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
“This was a throwback game and there were some moments of truth there at the end, and probably the bottom line is they won those moments of truth,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
It marked just the Heat’s third “clutch” loss this postseason, as it owns an impressive 10-3 “clutch” record in the playoffs. A “clutch” game is defined as one that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.
“At the end of the game, some things play your way, and some don’t,” said Heat rookie guard Tyler Herro, who scored a team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter. “Things started to go in their direction, and they made a few more plays then us. They hit a couple more shots and when you do that toward the end of the game, you end up winning by six.”
Winning close games has been a big part of the Heat’s winning formula this postseason, but Tuesday’s “clutch” loss could prove to be the difference in how this year’s Finals series ends. A 2-2 series tie is a lot different than a 3-1 Lakers series lead.
“This was a grind-out, throwback game,” Spoelstra said. “Both teams were competing with great force. It’s not like anybody was giving up any quarter on either side, and you just have to make some plays down the end. I don’t think we didn’t make plays, I just think they just made more plays and more shots to seal it.”
Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James seemed to control the second half of Game 4, with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists during the final two quarters. He scored only eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in the first half.
James finished Los Angeles’ victory with 28 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and six turnovers. Five of his six turnovers came in the first half.
The Lakers’ second star was also very good in Game 4. Big man Anthony Davis recorded 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks in the win.
Davis and James combined for 34 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the second half.
Heat All-Star wing Jimmy Butler followed up his historic 40-point Game 3 triple-double performance by almost picking up another triple-double. He finished Tuesday’s loss with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals, as the Lakers used Davis and James to defend Butler for most of the game.
“Like I always say, they’re a really, really, really good team, and we got to play damn near perfect to beat them,” Butler said. “We didn’t do that tonight.”
The big question was: How effective would Bam Adebayo be after missing the previous two games with a strained neck?
Adebayo was relatively effective in his return Tuesday, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes. On the defensive end, Adebayo took on the challenge of guarding Davis during stretches.
But Adebayo was quiet in the fourth quarter, with two points on one shot, one rebound and zero assists in the period.
“Physically still not 100 percent, but I was moving well and getting back to 100 percent,” Adebayo said.
Adebayo started alongside Herro, Duncan Robinson, Butler and Jae Crowder in Game 4. It was the first time this five-man unit has started a game together this season, but it could be the Heat’s starting lineup for the remainder of the Finals unless guard Goran Dragic is able to return.
While Tuesday was the first time that lineup has started a game, it’s not the first time it has been used. The Herro-Robinson-Butler-Crowder-Adebayo combination entered Game 4 with a plus/minus of minus-17 in 68 minutes together this postseason.
The lineup was a minus-two in 22 minutes in Game 4.
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The Heat’s three-point shooting, one of its biggest strengths this season, just wasn’t good enough in Game 4.
The Heat is the better outside shooting team in the series, finishing the regular season with the NBA’s second-best team three-point percentage (37.9). Miami also made 14.1 threes per game and shot 38 percent from deep in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Lakers entered the Finals shooting 35.5 percent on threes this postseason. Los Angeles finished the regular season with the league’s 21st-best team three-point percentage (34.9).
The Lakers shot around their average from three-point range in Game 4 — 14 of 39 (35.9 percent).
But the Heat struggled to make threes for most of the night. Miami shot 6 of 25 (24 percent) from deep through the first three quarters before making five of its seven threes in the final period to finish the game 11 of 32 (34.4 percent) from behind the arc.
Not even that late-game surge was enough. Miami is now 9-22 this season when shooting worse than 35 percent on threes.
Robinson finished with 17 points with the help of 3-of-6 shooting from deep, and Herro scored 21 points on 3-of-7 shooting on threes. But the other Heat players combined to shoot 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from three-point range in the loss.
Game 4 represented a step back for the Heat’s offense after scoring 120.5 points per 100 possessions in Games 2 and 3 of the Finals. Miami scored just 104.3 points per 100 possessions on Tuesday, which is its third-worst single-game offensive rating this postseason.
“We’re continuing to go grow our understanding of the Miami Heat and their offensive system, which is very, very complicated and difficult to guard,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “Each game we tweak the scheme a little bit and get a little stronger with what we are doing on that end and what we are trying to take away.”
Dragic wanted to and tried to play in Game 4, but his injured foot just didn’t let him. It remains to be seen if Dragic will be able to return at some point in the Finals.
Dragic hoped to play Tuesday and warmed up in an attempt to make his return in Game 4, but he was ruled out about an hour before tip-off as he continues to recover from a torn plantar fascia in his left foot. He has now missed three consecutive games with the injury.
While testing his injured foot before Tuesday’s game, pregame video showed Dragic had trouble moving laterally when trying to defend Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn. Dragic then walked slowly to the bench after coming to the realization it would not be possible to play in Game 4.
“I’m dealing with a lot of pain, so that’s the main concern,” Dragic said Monday. “I don’t want to be a liability there on the floor for my team. I want to be the best that I can be. It’s just, it is what it is.
“They told me that it can change day-to-day. It’s just a matter of comfort, and if I can push off my leg. I do have to admit, it’s better than it was. The injury happened four days ago. We’ll just see how it’s going to react in the near future, and hopefully I will be back.”
Dragic, 34, did not play in the second half of Game 1 of the Finals because of the foot injury. He recorded six points on 3-of-8 shooting and three assists in 15 first-half minutes, as the injury looked to occur in the second quarter when Dragic stepped on Lakers guard Rajon Rondo’s foot.
Dragic, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has been one of the Heat’s most reliable and efficient offensive options this postseason. He entered the Finals averaging a team-high 20.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting, to go with 4.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the playoff run.
The next opportunity for Dragic to return will be in Game 5 on Friday (9 p.m., ABC), with a two-day gap between Games 4 and 5 of the championship series.
“It’s not the easiest thing right now for me to sit down on the sideline and watch my team,” Dragic said Monday, “how they are battling, how they are playing well, and of course I want to be out there. But yeah, I don’t know. Most of the times I ask myself, I ask the guy above us why it has to happen right now. It’s tough.”
The Heat is obviously not in a good spot, with the Lakers just one win away from winning the 2020 NBA championship.
A look at history confirms just how tough it will be for the Heat to win three consecutive games to come back from a 3-1 series deficit and claim the title. NBA teams that take a 3-1 lead have won their series 95 percent (246-13) of the time in league history.
Miami has rallied from a 3-1 series deficit once in franchise history. The Heat recovered from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the New York Knicks 4-3 in the second round of the 1997 playoffs.
But if recent history is any indication, those numbers may not be entirely relevant in the quarantine Disney bubble that the 2020 playoffs are being played in amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With no home-court advantage, the Denver Nuggets came back from a 3-1 hole twice this postseason to eliminate the Utah Jazz in the first round and send the Los Angeles Clippers home in the second round.
“Our confidence ain’t going nowhere, it’s going to stay high,” Butler said. “I’m going to make sure that it stays high, because it’s going to have to be at an all-time high to get this next win.”
