NBA: It is not over, says Jimmy Butler after game two
Oct 03, 2020
Orlando [USA], October 3 : Anthony Davis and LeBron James powered LA Lakers to yet another win against Miami Heat beating them 124-114 in Game Two to extend their lead to 2-0 in the 2020 NBA Finals. Davis scored 32 points with 14 rebounds, while 16-time All-Star LeBron James, the night's leading scorer, put up 33 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
The Lakers started aggressively, with Rajon Rondo, Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso making it count from the bench. The Heat were down 14 at the end of the second quarter and a 39-point third-quarter brought the Lakers lead down to 10, but that didn't matter in the end. With the absence of Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler took matters in his hands (25 pts, 13 ast, eight reb), helping Heat to keep cut the lead to 10 in the third quarter, but that wasn't going to be enough.
"Miami played extremely hard and kept fighting to cut into the lead. This team has a lot of fight. They are extremely difficult to guard, no matter who is in uniform. It doesn't matter that if they had some guys out," said Frank Vogel, head coach of the LA Lakers during the post-game press conference.
After their defeat in game one Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about how the physicality of the Lakers was a deciding factor. The absence of Bam in game two didn't make it any easier for the Heat.
"In those moments of truth when we had opportunities to get the game closer, it usually seemed to end up in some kind of offensive rebound or something near the basket. But this is the deal and if you want something badly enough, you'll figure out how to overcome it," said Spoelstra.
Even though Lakers managed a comfortable win over their opponents, James was honest to admit that his team's defensive display in Game Two wasn't upto the mark.
"We want to be great, as close to 48 minutes as possible. We're playing against a very dangerous team in Miami, where they have five guys on the floor that's a threat, as they have shown tonight," said James.
Heat are now 2-0 down against a team served by some of the best players in the NBA, Butler though has not lost hope of a comeback.
"We're going to fight and we're going to ride with this thing until the wheels fall off. It's not over. We're just down 0-2, so we got to do something special. We're capable of it and I wouldn't want to be in the trenches with any other guys except for the ones that we have," said Butler.
