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NBA Scores: LeBron James, Anthony Davis made timely plays as Lakers take 3-1 lead – SB Nation
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Meanwhile, the Lakers topped the Grizzlies, who now find themselves in a dreaded 3-1 hole over their own.
Before the playoffs began, people were penciling the Milwaukee Bucks into a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. It didn’t matter that we did not yet know their opponent in the first round at the time due to the unknowns of the play-in tournament. Nor did it matter who they would hypothetically play in the second round, be it the Cleveland Cavaliers or the New York Knicks. With Giannis Antetokounmpo playing MVP-caliber basketball; Brook Lopez looking like a vintage version of himself; Jrue Holiday being the two-way menace every team dreams of having; and Khris Middleton finally back to being the player he was before he suffered an injury last season, the Bucks run to the Eastern Conference Finals was billed as a formality.
Now, improbably, it looks as though they may not even get out of the first round.
Jimmy Butler scored 56 points to drag the eighth-seeded Miami Heat out of a 14-point fourth-quarter hole to grab a 3-1 lead in the series, putting top-seeded Milwaukee just one game away from elimination. Butler’s 56 points became his career-high, broke the franchise playoff record, and tied the fourth-best scoring performance in NBA playoff history.
In the fourth quarter, Butler scored 20 of his 56 as the Heat stormed back by shooting hotter than the on-fire ball that serves as their logo. They shot eight-for-nine from the field in the final six minutes, while Milwaukee was 4-of-13. Miami had a scoring advantage of 30-13 during that stretch, a run that proved pivotal in the final result.
JIMMY BUTLER pic.twitter.com/Pz5cwhWHVy
Brook Lopez scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bucks. In his return from a two-game absence due to a bruised back, Giannis did what he does: drop a 26-10-and-13 triple-double. The only thing that could’ve stopped the Bucks from evening this series was a historic masterpiece of a performance. And that’s exactly what Butler delivered.
An eight-seed has only ever held a 3-1 lead over a conference’s top seed four other times since 1984 (when the playoffs expanded to 16 teams). Only five other times has the eight knocked off the one in a series, with Miami looking to be the sixth if all goes well.
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The Memphis Grizzlies have been outmanned both literally and figuratively in this series, but it was never like they were going to roll over. Despite the Lakers being the better team, seeding notwithstanding, the Grizz have talent across the board. Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. all possess serious skill and some playoff experience.
Their problem? LeBron James plays for the other team. And Dillon Brooks, unfortunately, poked the bear a few too many times.
Days after Brooks called James “old”, refused to respect his game until he gave him 40, punched James in the nether regions, and mouthed off to the nines despite averages of 11.3 points per game on 33.3 percent shooting in this series, LeBron handled business in the most efficient way possible. He scored 22 points and pulled down a career playoff-high 20 rebounds to lead the Lakers to victory in overtime. If you can believe it, it was the first 20-20 game he’s recorded in his 20-year career. Two decades in, and still making history.
He tied the game at 104 with 0.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, leaving Memphis just enough time to get a shot off with a chance to win. Ja Morant received the inbound and fired away, but Anthony Davis stood in his way.
AD BLOCKS JA TO FORCE OT ⛔️
IF THAT LEBRON SHOT HAD COUNTED pic.twitter.com/SPZI0OdR9O
Naturally, LeBron nailed a shot from three-quarters court, but it came after the buzzer. No matter: the Lakers took control in OT, outscoring Memphis 13-7 en route to the win and a 3-1 series lead. Austin Reaves added 23 points for L.A., while Desmond Bane handled the offensive burden for Memphis, scoring 36 points on a night where Ja Morant scored just 19 on eight-of-24 shooting.
The action heads back to Memphis for a do-or-die Game 5 on Wednesday. Until then.
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