2020 NBA Finals: Davis-James Combine Well To Help LA Lakers Thump Miami Heat 116-98 In Game 1

Anthony Davis led the scoring charts for the winning LA Lakers team with 34 points while LeBron James finished played his hand in the dominant win with 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

LA Lakers registered a thumping 116-98 win over Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals played  at the Advent Health Arena in Orlando, Florida on Thursday and took 1-0 lead in the 7-game series. Anthony Davis led the scoring charts for the winning LA Lakers team with 34 points while LeBron James finished played his hand in the dominant win with 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. The support cast for LA Lakers was also good with Alex Caruso (10 points), Rajon Rondo (7 points), and Markieff Morris (8 points) making notable contributions. Anthony Davis becomes the first LA Lakers player to tally 30-plus points in the NBA Finals since Kobe Bryant's 38 points in Game 5 of the 2010 Finals.

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Anthony Davis puts up 34, LeBron tallies 25 PTS, 13 REB, 9 AST and the @Lakers take a 1-0 series lead! #NBAFinals Game 2: Friday - 9:00pm/et, ABC Caldwell-Pope: 13 PTS, 2 3PM Danny Green: 11 PTS, 3 3PM, 3 BLK Jimmy Butler: 23 PTS, 5 AST pic.twitter.com/VXLywzlOzL — NBA (@NBA) October 1, 2020

After Miami Heat took the early led in the opening phases of the first quarter, it was pretty even between the teams at the end of the first quarter with LA Lakers taking a slender 31-28 lead. LA Lakers dominated the second quarter and took a sizeable lead at the half way stage of the match with the scoreline reading 65-48. Lakers extended their dominance in the third quarter as well scoring 28 points as against against Heat's 19. Heading into the fourth and final quarter on the back of a massive lead, Lakers turned a bit defensive to counter the Heat attack and were outscored 31-23 but it was enough for them to seal an emphatic 116-98 win.

Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to 4th on the all-time #NBAFinals DOUBLE-DOUBLES list! pic.twitter.com/FSy0ALxXQJ

— NBA (@NBA) October 1, 2020

The Miami Heat challenge against a much stronger Lakers was dented by injuries to their star players Goran Dragic (foot) and All-Star Bam Adebayo (shoulder) who went down the tunnel and did not stage a comeback return. While it was an all-round show of dominance by the LA Lakers, Jimmy Butler turned out to be the lone warrior for the Miami Heat as he finished the game with 23 points. It could have turned out to be a nightmare for Miami Heat as Jimmy Butler injured his ankle while trying to score in the second quarter. The Miami Heat small forward appeared to have twisted his ankle post landing awkwardly on the play Butler showcases resilience to stay on in the game afterward and finish the half, despite being slightly hobbled. After the game got over, Butler described himself as a 'little bit sore'.  "I'll be OK. Some treatment, and get ready to go again. I think I gotta be ready to go, so we'll see how it feels tomorrow, but I'm gonna be fine.", said Butler Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals between LA Lakers and Miami Heat will be played at Advent Health Arena in Orlando on October 3.