LeBron James isn’t supposed to lose close out games. But Jimmy Butler, the man who loves cowboy boots, country music, and sells coffee for $20 a cup out of his hotel room down at Disney World, has never cared much for popular narratives.
So just when we all thought the NBA Finals were about to be wrapped up for James and his Lakers, we got another scintillating performance outta Jimmy to remind us of his excellence and the fallacy of making assumptions in the craziest of NBA seasons.
Facing elimination Friday, the Heat managed to survive to see at least Game 6 thanks to Butler's second monster game of the series that saw him pour in 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting across 47 draining minutes. Just about every NBA observer thought the Lakers would take care of business and put a cap on the bubble. But Butler willed Miami past Los Angeles, 111-108, in the most stressful, exhausting, competitive, and intense contest of these Finals. LA still leads the series, 3-2, but Butler balling like a madman yet again means we need to take Miami much more seriously.
"I left it all out there on the floor along with my guys, and that's how we're going to have to play from here on out," Butler said. "Like I always say, it's win or win for us. But this is the position that we're in. We like it this way. We got two more in a row to get."
Listen, if Miami can get one more great game out of Butler, and his supporting cast can step up like it did Friday, then this series could shockingly be headed to a winner-take-all Game 7 when it looked like it would be a cakewalk for the Lakers a few days ago. The Heat rode Butler Friday—just like it did in Game 3 Sunday—and won a dramatic contest despite James having one of the greatest games of his illustrious Finals history.
If the Lakers had won, it obviously would have been LeBron's night and we would have appropriately showered him in all kinds of flowery praise because he was phenomenal. The King went for 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including 6-of-9 from deep, adding 13 boards and 7 assists, as he led the Lakers to within one shot of sealing the franchise's 17th championship. But Danny Green's potential game-winning straight-away 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds to go came up short, Markieff Morris turned the ball over after grabbing the offensive rebound, and instead of the Lakers raising the Larry O'Brien Trophy, we get to revel in Butler pulling off the ridiculous. Again.
Game 6 goes down Sunday. You know Butler can't wait.
"I mean, I'm sure they wanted to win, thought they was going to win coming into it. As did we," Butler said. "But it was a hard-fought game, I think it's going to be even harder for us next game, but I like our chances."
Every bit the alpha dog that LeBron was as he hit clutch shots over Anthony Davis and drove to the basket without abandon, Butler went to the free throw line 12 times and hit all 12 of his free throws. He also had 12 boards and 11 assists. In an elimination game, he was even better than he was when he poured in 40 points in Game 3 and he had more than enough help as his teammates rallied around him for a change. Duncan Robinson was Miami's second-leading scorer with 26 while Kendrick Nunn contributed 14, Bam Adebayo had 13, Tyler Herro added 12, and Jae Crowder had 11. Butler absolutely needed their help, but the Heat's best player is single-handedly making a lot of basketball observers sound stupid for saying this series is the Lakers to lose.
"I know that I'm capable of it, but I got a hell of a group of guys around me that make my job a lot easier," Butler said. "I'm fortunate for those guys because when I pass it to them they make shots. When I get beat going to the rim, they're there. So we're in this thing together and they give me a lot of confidence to go out there and hoop."
The battle between James and Butler down the stretch was incredible entertainment. Game 5 was by far the best of the series and easily one of the best playoff games this season. There were seven lead changes over the final three minutes and James did absolutely everything in his powers to end the series. But LA's final possession was a dud, the Lakers wasted his mammoth performance, and, of course, had no answer for Butler.
Here are six other observations from Game 5.
6: Players in NBA history who have had multiple triple-doubles in the same NBA Finals. That list now includes Butler after Friday. He joined Magic Johnson (3), James (3), Wilt Chamberlain (1), Larry Bird (1), and Draymond Green (1) on the prestigious list. While you can make the argument that triple-doubles aren't what they used to be in today's position-less NBA, Butler's triple-doubles these Finals have been incredible and incredibly vital for the Heat.
38-11: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is LeBron James’s record in close out games. His .775 winning percentage remains the best in NBA history amongst players who have appeared in minimum of 25 close out games.
James made the right play on the Lakers' second to last possession when he found an open Green at the top of the arc. Green, a career 42.4 percent 3-point shooter who has hit a few big shots in his career winning titles with San Antonio and Toronto last season, came up short. We don't want to hear any criticism about James not taking the final shot on that possession. He made the right basketball play. He drew the defense around him as he drove to the basket and found an open teammate. Something Michael Jordan did plenty of times. Only difference is Jordan's teammates—like John Paxson and Steve Kerr—hit those series clinching shots.
Green didn't Friday. It happens. And Morris turned the ball over after grabbing the offensive board when he threw a terrible entry pass to Davis. It shouldn't detract even an ounce from LeBron's brilliance. James certainly isn't going to throw his boys under the bus.
"I mean, they’re vets. They’re vets. I don't think too much need to be said to them," James said. "I believe they will be much better and I'm not saying they even played bad tonight. Everybody in the lineup tonight that got minutes gave the effort. We just had some mental breakdowns at times, and they make you pay for it, like I said. We've got to look at the film tomorrow and see how we can be better."
Miami's had the injury issues during the Finals, but the Lakers got a real scare early in Game 5 when Davis limped off with a heel injury in the first quarter that was reportedly a nasty contusion. Of major significance going forward, Davis was hobbled for much of the game after he came up lame and his mobility is now a major subplot entering Game 6.
"Iggy [Andre Iguodala] kind of stepped on it. Re-aggravated it," Davis said. "But I'll be fine on Sunday."
AD finished Friday with 26 points, but he wasn't quite himself down the stretch and LeBron desperately needs the best running mate he's ever had to be better. And be healthy.
"I mean he's a warrior, man. Just him being out there, hobbled, just brings a lot more confidence to myself and our team," James said. "We know the nicks and bumps and bruises he's played through throughout the whole season."
Mamba Jerseys Back Too Soon
It was good to see the Lakers bring back the Mamba jerseys for Game 5 like we wanted them to after Game 2. But it would've been a neater narrative had the Lakers won Friday.
When the playoffs began, Los Angeles broke out the Kobe Bryant-designed Nike jerseys as a way to honor the late Bryant and his daughter Gigi and their plan was to only break them out for Games 2 and 7 (to honor Gigi since she wore the No. 2 and Bryant’s reputation as a closer).
But since the Lakers were the home team in Game 5 and could chose what jerseys they wanted to wear, they appropriately opted for the special snakeskin kits that debuted in the 2017-18 season. The Lakers are now 4-1 wearing the Mamba jerseys in the playoffs.
“It represents an individual who gave the franchise 20 years of his blood, sweat, and tears and his dedication to his craft, both on and off the floor, to make that franchise be proud of him, and hopefully vice versa,” James told reporters Thursday.
Davis admitted he felt a little added pressure to take care of business while rocking something so closely associated with the Laker legend who won five titles with Los Angeles over 20 seasons.
“We just think that for all the things that happened this season, with our team specifically and our organization, that to be able to close it out in the Black Mamba uniforms will just make it all worth it,” Davis told reporters Thursday. “Obviously his legacy in the NBA and then just with the organization, period, is something special, and for us to, like I said, close it out in his honor is something that we look forward to, something that—an insane amount of pressure for sure, but we don't want to lose, we don't want to let him down.”
Davis took the Bryant tributes to another level rocking a special pair of gold Kobe 5s.
Championship gold Kobe 5s for @AntDavis23 in Game 5 🤯 pic.twitter.com/AdejMMEtTt
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) October 10, 2020
Even though the series is 3-2, Heat hasn't been the same without starting point guard after Goran Dragic, their leading scorer in the postseason entering the NBA Finals, who left Game 1 with a torn plantar fascia and hasn't been able to return to action.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t have any updates before Game 5 on Dragic, While he reportedly was able to get up shots without any issues. ESPN’s Malika Andrews said earlier Friday that Dragic’s lateral movement was severely limited and he would be compromised on defense. He missed his fourth straight game because he didn’t want to be a liability out there on the court and it appears the Heat don't expect him to be availabel in Game 6 or a Game 7 if the series can be extended.
