Watch a full replay of Heat @ Lakers Game 5 on Sky Sports Arena on Saturday at 9am
Saturday 10 October 2020 10:35, UK
Jimmy Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals as the Miami Heat avoided elimination with a 111-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.
Duncan Robinson had 26 points, helping the Heat close their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.
Kendrick Nunn chipped in 14 points, Bam Adebayo contributed 13 and Tyler Herro had 12 points and Jae Crowder scored 11.
LeBron James amassed 40 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Lakers. Anthony Davis finished with 28 points, 12 boards and three blocks while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 points.
Game 6 takes place in the early hours of Monday morning (12.30am, live on Sky Sports Arena) and Game 7, if necessary, would be played in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Two free throws by James with 2:52 remaining tied the score at 101. Butler's jumper put Miami up by two, but James' three-point play with 1:34 left gave the Lakers a one-point lead.
Butler scored again for a one-point Heat advantage with 1:13 to go, but James' bucket allowed the Lakers to take a 106-105 lead with 58.2 seconds left.
Two foul shots by Butler gave Miami a 107-106 lead with 46.7 seconds remaining, but Los Angeles grabbed a 108-107 edge with 21.8 seconds left on a put-back by Davis.
Butler made two free throws with 16.8 seconds left, giving Miami the lead for good. Danny Green misfired on an open three-pointer. Los Angeles claimed the offensive rebound but Markieff Morris' turnover gave the ball back to Miami.
Herro's two fouls shots with 1.6 seconds put the Heat up by three, and James' desperation heave at the buzzer was off the mark.
An 11-3 run to open the second gave Miami a 36-27 advantage after a jumper by Nunn less than three minutes into the quarter.
The Heat went up 50-39 after another Nunn bucket, but the Lakers rallied with an 8-0 surge to cut the margin to three after a lay-up by Kuzma with 2:04 left in the quarter.
Butler's 22 first-half points lifted the Heat to a 60-56 lead at the break. James had 21 points at the break.
The Lakers got a scare when Davis went down with a right heel injury with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. However, he returned in the second quarter.
Watch a full replay of Heat @ Lakers Game 5 on Sky Sports Arena on Saturday at 9am
