Game 3 of NBA Finals looms, Lakers leading Heat 2-0 so far

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — For the Los Angeles Lakers, the mission is simple: Get two more wins and become NBA champions.

For the Miami Heat, the mission may be even more simple: Get one win and make this a series.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Sunday night, the Lakers holding a 2-0 lead in the title matchup — putting the franchise within reach of a record-tying 17th championship, LeBron James closer to his fourth ring and Anthony Davis perhaps a few days away from his first crown. They know desperation is coming from a banged-up Miami team, since Game 3 is almost certainly a must for the Heat.

“We’re never giving up,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “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’ve 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.”

Thing is, Butler isn’t certain which guys will be in those trenches Sunday.

All-Star center Bam Adebayo missed Game 2 with neck and shoulder problems, while starting point guard Goran Dragic also couldn’t play because of a torn left plantar fascia. Adebayo is hopeful that he could be well enough to play Sunday; Dragic wants desperately to be out there as well, but the Heat have concerns about how painful it would be for him.

Saturday was scheduled to be a day of more round-the-clock treatment for Dragic and Adebayo. If the Heat get either of them back, it’s a bonus.

“We can either fold or fight like the Miami Heat do,” rookie guard Tyler Herro said. “We know what kind of team we are. We know what we are capable of. Next game, we are going to fight and make some plays. It’s not going to be easy.”

The Lakers also say the same. They are, however, making things look easy.

The biggest stat differences in the first two games are the Lakers outscoring the Heat by 27 points from 3-point range (the total difference in scoring between the teams is 28) and a 25-11 edge so far in offensive rebounding.

“We know we can be a lot better and we’re just, myself and AD, we’re not satisfied with just the win,” James said. “We want to be great. We want to be great, as close to 48 minutes as possible.”

The Lakers not named James or Davis are shooting a combined 39% — but the two superstars are more than making up for that, shooting a combined 59%. If that’s what it takes, Davis isn’t complaining.

“We know we have something special with us two and this team, and just trying to capitalize on it,” Davis said.

Being in the NBA Finals 10 times now means James has seen just about everything, which also means he can sound whatever alarm he wants.

Only four teams have come back from 2-0 deficits in the finals. James was on the most recent club to do it, the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers who were down 2-0 and 3-1 before rallying to beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games for his third title.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was an assistant coach in 2006, when Miami rallied from down 2-0 against Dallas for that season’s championship. Like James, he knows it can be done.

“What will it take? Whatever is necessary. It’s simple as that,” Spoelstra said. “If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure it out. Our group is extremely stubborn, persistent, and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent. And that we respect the quality, high quality of opponent that we’re playing. You’ve’ got to figure it out and overcome it.”

There does seem to be a clear sense outside the Miami and Los Angeles locker rooms that the series is over.

There are already questions being asked about whether James or Davis should be the NBA Finals MVP. Whomever was at the controls of the social media accounts for the National Basketball Retired Players Association on Friday night predicted Game 2 would be a 91-point win for the Lakers.

The Lakers aren’t celebrating early. But if Davis and James keep going like this, the Lakers’ chances are looking pretty good.

“You know, we are not there yet. We have a long way to go,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “This is a very resilient basketball team that we are playing and a team that just flew through the East. We have great respect for them. But those guys are playing at an extremely high level, and hopefully we can get two more wins.”

-Associated Press

Kobe’s stolen jersey returned for ceremony at high school

ARDMORE, Pa.  (AP) — Kobe Bryant’s high school jersey spent more time in China of late than it did hanging on the wall of the gym named in honor of the school’s career leading scorer.

Bryant’s retired No. 33 jersey was stolen in 2017 from Lower Merion High School’s campus and eventually bought by a collector in China. Suspicious the jersey was stolen, the Kobe collector contacted the school and helped return the keepsake to suburban Philadelphia, a process already underway before Bryant was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash.


The uniform was at last back Saturday where it belonged — unveiled under a spotlight by Bryant’s cousin, his old high school coach, and a former teammate at Bryant Gymnasium.

“Good timing,” Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said. “That was kind of an iconic moment when the spotlight went on that jersey. It was just tremendous. It was major irony, almost, how we’ve been waiting for that jersey for a long time. For a long time we didn’t know where it was. To have it back, it’s a fitting ending to a tough week.”

Outside of Los Angeles, no place was as connected with Bryant as Lower Merion. At a tribute Friday night in LA, the entire Lakers lineup was introduced the same way: “From Lower Merion High School, No. 8, Kobe Bryant.” Golfer Justin Thomas wore a Bryant No. 33 LM jersey at a tournament. The Sixers had the 33 logo on the court this week at their first home since Bryant was killed.

While NBA teams spent the ensuing days holding observances for Bryant, Lower Merion finally played its first home game and celebrated the biggest star to ever play for the Aces. Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others killed were all remembered in the pregame ceremony.

“Because of Kobe, Lower Merion High School is known all over the globe,” principal Sean Hughes told the crowd. “Despite his international fame, Kobe kept very close to our hearts. He returned here to meet with beloved (English teachers), and of course, coach Downer. He helped make this gym the wonderful facility it is. He was a strong supporter, not only of our basketball teams, but all of Aces Nation.”

The gym was packed to at least the 1,600 capacity, and students — some asking this week at school for $40 for the $3 ticket — wore black T-shirts that read “The Heartbeat of Aces Nation” with a 33 inside an ace. Sixers coach Brett Brown’s son plays on the team, connections far removed from the A-listers that packed Staples Center a night earlier in a stirring ceremony. At Lower Merion, a former student sang the national anthem. A teacher unveiled a portrait she had painted of Bryant. School administrators gave speeches.

Once the ball tipped, it was business as usual, without the 24-second shot clock and eight-second backcourt violations NBA teams have been performing to salute Bryant’s two pro uniform numbers. Lower Merion did hold 33 seconds of silence, and former teammates (and Bryant’s cousin, John Cox) gathered in a mournful circle at midcourt.

In some ways, the Aces’ 42-37 overtime win over Souderton seemed as normal as Bryant’s presence in the gym. He’s just a name between Carly Brown and Mike Venafra on a banner listing the Aces’ career 1,000-point scorers. A photo of Bryant holding the 1996 Class AAAA state championship trophy was on the wall, blending in with dozens of other great players and teams from program history.

There was even some levity during video highlights of his playing career when Bryant was shown reminiscing about his high school days, saying “the first year I got there, we went like 4 and 40 or something. We were terrible.”



Cirilo Perez drove nearly 2½ hours from Heightsville, Maryland, to pay his respects to Bryant at the memorial in front of the gym. He didn’t have a ticket to the game, he simply wanted to be part of the day devoted to his favorite player. Perez wore a Bryant jersey and left his Lakers hat at the scene, which was loaded with basketballs, cards and signs left from Bryant fans near and far.

“He put in the work and brought that blue-collar mentality that a lot of people connect with, not only here, but around the world,” Perez said. “He found a way to connect.”

Carter Knight, an assistant coach at Souderton, gathered the Indians for a team photo at the site.

“It’s real right now,” Knight said. “We’ve been talking about the ‘Mamba Mentality’ since the start of the season, so it’s crazy that we’re here today. We’ve been harping on that the entire season, that mental toughness and what Kobe brought and what he stands for.”

His former guidance counselor attended the game, recalling how Bryant’s Toyota Land Cruiser was often parked in the teacher’s lot long before the school day started.

“His smile was the greatest thing I remember,” Frank Hartwell said. “He was just an inspiration to so many, it wasn’t all about himself. He was here before school every day working on his skills. He wasn’t just in here shooting, he was working on his moves.”

Hartwell said Bryant even talked to him as he considered his biggest move — making the jump to the NBA straight from Lower Merion.

“I gave him the pros and cons but I told him, ‘It’s up to you.’ I think he made the right decision,” Hartwell said.

Bryant made the right call, starting with a Mamba Mentality that took hold in Lower Merion long before it became a marketing catchphrase.

“It was a chase of excellence like I’ve never seen,” Downer said.

source: AP

Ball flirts with triple-double, Lakers hold on to beat Suns

PHOENIX — Lonzo Ball barely missed a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in his second NBA game and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the Phoenix Suns 132-130 on Friday night.

The Suns had a chance to tie it with 1.2 seconds to play, but T.J. Warren missed the first of two free throws. That meant he had to miss the second intentionally and hope for a rebound, but the Suns couldn’t get a decent shot off before the buzzer.

Ball, the No. 2 overall pick this year who is a week shy of his 20th birthday, took over down the stretch, scoring eight points in a 2 1/2-minute span. His final basket during that run, a floating layup, put Los Angeles ahead 130-122 with 1:35 to play.

But the Suns came roaring back behind Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker, whose 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left cut it to 131-130. Brandon Ingram made one of two free throws to give Phoenix one last chance and Warren was fouled by Ingram on an inbounds play.

The free throw was off the back of the rim, though, and the Lakers survived.

Bledsoe scored 29 points, 17 in the fourth quarter. Booker also flirted with what would have been his first career triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Warren added 24 points, 17 in the second quarter. Ingram scored 25 points for Los Angeles.

Both teams were coming off of season-opening blowout losses.

The Lakers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 108-92, and Phoenix was routed by Portland 124-79, the most one-sided loss in Suns history and most one-sided season opener ever in the NBA.

From the opening tip Friday, it was a fast-paced, often sloppy, game with not much attention to defense.

Phoenix used a 13-2 run to go up 55-49 with 7:09 left in the half and the Suns stretched it to 67-58 on another 3 by Booker with 3:34 left in the half. But the Lakers scored the next seven, five at the free throw line.

Warren responded with consecutive baskets, but Ingram had the last laugh, a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play to cut Phoenix’s lead to 73-70 at the half.

Booker was called for a flagrant one when he fouled Brewer hard on a layup with 6:02 left in the third quarter. Larry Nance Jr. jumped into the fray and put a shoulder into Booker, who responded with a shove. Booker and Nance both were assessed technical fouls.

The play came during an 13-2 Lakers outburst that put Los Angeles on top 95-85 after Nance stole the ball from Booker with both players on the floor and flipped the ball to Lopez for a layup with 3:03 to play in the third quarter.

The Lakers boosted the lead to 111-99 on Clarkson’s basket with 10:28 to go.

TIP INS

Lakers: Luol Deng, who started Thursday’s opener, was inactive. … Ball had three points, nine assists and four steals in his debut Thursday night. … The Lakers locked arms as they stood for the national anthem.

Suns: In the second quarter, Warren was 6 for 7 from the field and 5 for 6 from the foul line. … Booker was flattened under the Phoenix basket by Brook Lopez in the second quarter. He was slow to get up but stayed in the game. ..The Suns play their next five on the road. Their next home game is Nov. 6 against Brooklyn.

UP NEXT

Lakers: Host New Orleans on Sunday night.

Suns: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net