LeBron James, Anthony Davis Lead Lakers to Game 4 Win vs. Jimmy Butler, Heat

John Raoux/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers are one victory away from emerging from the bubble as NBA champions.

Los Angeles defeated the Miami Heat 102-96 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday at the Walt Disney World Resort. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope spearheaded the effort for the Purple and Gold, who bounced back from a Game 3 loss and now lead the series 3-1.

Bam Adebayo returned to the lineup for the Heat, but that, along with a solid statistical performance from Jimmy Butler, was not enough to prevent a loss. They will now need to win three in a row, which is something they did in each of their first two playoff series.

Notable Player Stats

Miami’s Offense Goes Missing at Inopportune Time

The biggest storyline for the Heat entering play was the return of Adebayo, but Butler was under the biggest spotlight.

After all, he posted a 40-point triple-double and willed his team to victory in Game 3 even without Adebayo and Goran Dragic. That would have been enough to make him a focal point, but he also said the Lakers were “in trouble” while dishing out some trash talk Sunday.

Butler backed up his talk out of the gates, drilling all five of his shot attempts in the first quarter. He was the only reason the Heat were still within striking distance early with Adebayo dealing with foul trouble.

However, the Lakers adjusted and started completely backing off him on the perimeter to cut off drives. Even though Los Angeles was daring him to shoot, Butler passed on a number of open looks and cooled off significantly as the game progressed.

It didn’t help Miami’s cause that Kendrick Nunn was forcing ill-advised shots off the bench, although Duncan Robinson and the versatile Adebayo, who even attacked off the bounce like a point guard at times, provided support when Butler went missing for stretches. 

Tyler Herro also hit multiple key shots in the fourth to stay close, but everything seemed like a struggle against a stout Lakers defense. 

The Heat shot only 42.7 percent from the field throughout the game and went cold late as Los Angeles turned a three-point lead into nine and iced the win. A missed go-ahead three from Butler and a shot-clock violation during the final few minutes of the fourth quarter underscored the overall struggles, as Miami failed to score even 100 points for the second time in the series.

Lakers’ Role Players Outshine Miami’s

It was clear from the start that Game 4 was going to be a grind for the top-seeded Lakers.

James had some dunks but turned it over five times in the first half, while Davis had only eight points through two quarters as Miami swarmed him with double-teams. Still, the Lakers took a lead into intermission because of their supporting cast.

Caldwell-Pope started off on fire, taking advantage of the openings that are naturally created by the attention LeBron and Davis attract. Danny Green found his stroke with multiple three-pointers in the early going, and Alex Caruso provided a spark off the bench.

That Los Angeles was still winning at halftime even with James playing like a shell of his typical self seemed to spell trouble for the Heat.

The aggression that was missing from the King at the start eventually returned as expected, and he hit two deep threes, assisted on a Green dunk and cut into the lane for a layup off a Davis assist in the third quarter. It was a reminder that the four-time MVP could seemingly take over at any time, and the spurt put the Lakers in position to seize a 3-1 lead in the fourth.

L.A.’s role players took advantage of that position.

The Lakers were nursing a two-point lead in the final minutes when Caldwell-Pope connected on a corner three in transition and then hit a layup. Suddenly, the lead was seven, and Rajon Rondo answered a Jae Crowder three with a layup.

By the time Davis hit a three to push the lead to nine, the game was all but over.

What’s Next?

Game 5 of the series is Friday at 9 p.m. ET.