Anthony Davis, LeBron James Dominate Injury-Riddled Heat as Lakers Take 2-0 Lead

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Anthony Davis dropped 32 points on 15-of-20 shooting and LeBron James added a 33-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist night as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat, 124-114 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

The Heat had no answers for Davis, who scored 15 third-quarter points, started the game shooting 14-of-15 and finished with 14 boards.

Thanks largely to his efforts, the Lakers always led by nine or more points after halftime. L.A. led 68-54 at the break following a 39-point second quarter.

Miami missed two starters in point guard Goran Dragic (torn plantar fascia in left foot) and center Bam Adebayo (neck strain on left side).

The loss of Adebayo played into the Lakers’ struggles against Davis, but the Lakers also shot 50.5 percent as a team, with Rajon Rondo adding a 16-point, 10-assist double-double off the bench.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 25 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

L.A. won Game 1, 116-98 and now leads the best-of-seven series two games to zero.

Notable Performances

Lakers G/F LeBron James: 33 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds

Lakers F/C Anthony Davis: 32 points, 14 rebounds

Lakers G Rajon Rondo: 16 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds

Heat F Jimmy Butler: 25 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds

Heat C Kelly Olynyk: 24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

Heat G Tyler Herro: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists

Led By Anthony Davis, Lakers Dominate Heat Inside the Arc

If there was one sentence that could sum up the Lakers’ success against the Heat, it’s this: L.A. shot 33-of-50 from inside the three-point arc and outscored the Heat 56-46 in the paint.

Of course, much more happened than that, but the Lakers’ ability to do virtually whatever they wanted in and around the paint cemented Game 2 in their favor.

Davis dropped buckets in a variety of ways, including finishing this half-court lob from Rajon Rondo:

You can view all 15 of Davis’ third-quarter points via this video, which showcases Davis’ three-point shooting, mid-range, a devastating slice and finish at the rim and some putbacks.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps presented evidence of the destruction during the third quarter:

The Lakers can thank Davis, who is well on his way to an NBA Finals MVP, for that effort. Justin Verrier of the Ringer dropped his endorsement of Davis for that honor:

As Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks noted, Davis has been fantastic in his own right.

The AD-LeBron combination has proven deadly, to the point where James’ old running mate, Heat legend Dwyane Wade, acknowledged that Davis is the best player to ever run alongside the King.

His rapport with James was clearly evident, like when the two connected on an easy bucket following a quick James pass down low:

Davis was also historically great as well: Per Bleacher Report, his 66 points through his first two NBA Finals games with the organization are third in team history behind a few Hall of Fame legends in Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Ultimately, AD looks like he’s well on his way to cementing his name alongside Lakers greats based on his performance in purple and gold, capped by a likely NBA Finals MVP performance.

Heat Can’t Overcome Losses of Dragic, Adebayo

The Heat put up a tremendous fight against the Lakers despite Davis and James scorching the opposition for the second straight game.

They could have wilted away after trailing by 14 entering the third quarter, but instead, the Heat outscored the Lakers by four in that frame and kept the game’s result from being a foregone conclusion going into the fourth.

The problem was that the Heat missed Adebayo and Dragic, who could have put Miami over the top on Friday.

Miami clearly missed Adebayo’s defensive efforts. 

Adebayo was named to the All-NBA Defensive Team as a member of the second unit. ESPN ranked him 11th in the entire league regardless of position in real defensive plus-minus. His 106 defensive rating is best on the team among active players, per Basketball-Reference.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel summed up the Heat’s defensive woes without the All-Star big man:

His impact on the other end can’t be understated as well, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer pointed out what the Heat lost without Adebayo but also mentioned the team’s deficiencies sans Dragic as well:

Dragic finished second on the team in scoring during the regular season with 16.2 points per game, a figure that jumped to 19.9 during the playoffs (good enough for second as well).

His absence created a backcourt domino effect: Tyler Herro, who has been fantastic off the bench, was forced into the starting lineup given the team’s depth chart crunch.

Herro played well with 17 points, and Kendrick Nunn came off the bench to score 13 more, but Miami didn’t have enough firepower in the backcourt to participate in a shootout with the Lakers, whose offense proved unstoppable. 

ESPN’s Malika Andrews provided the proper context for the Heat’s collective starting lineup losses:

Dragic and Adebayo haven’t been ruled out for the entire series yet, but if they can’t return, then it’s hard seeing Miami take a game off the Lakers despite Miami’s resilient effort and fight.

What’s Next?

Game 3 will take place on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET. If the Lakers win, they can go for the series sweep on Tuesday for Game 4, which will occur at 9 p.m.