Butler put the Lakers in trouble after 40-point Game 3 performance
Jimmy Butler had a triple-double with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115–104 on Sunday night to get within 2–1 in the NBA Finals.
“I tell Coach all the time, `’I’m ready for this,” Butler said. “The biggest stage, whatever you ask me to do, I can do.”
“This is what he wanted, this is what we wanted,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s really hard to analyze or describe Jimmy until you actually feel him between the four lines. He’s a supreme, elite competitor and we needed it.”
“He’s one of the best competitors we have in our game,” the Lakers’ LeBron James said about Butler’s competitive spirit. “Love that opportunity. For me, personally, I don’t know how many more opportunities I’m going to have so to be able to go against a fierce competitor like that is something I’ll look back on when I’m done playing. I’ll miss those moments.”
James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris each had 19 points off the bench.
“I know how resilient that bunch is and how resilient that coaching staff is and their franchise,” James said of Heat’s resilience as he won two titles with them back in the day when he was playing with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. “Also, I don’t feel like we’re concerned. We’re not concerned. We know we can play a lot better. We have another opportunity to take a commanding lead on Tuesday.”
Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk had 17 points each, Duncan Robinson had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists and Jae Crowder had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Game 4 is on Tuesday.