NBA Finals 2020: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat Game 1: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights

Benyam Kidane

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NBA Finals 2020: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat Game 1: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights image

The Los Angeles Lakers put on a show in Game 1 of the NBA Finals as they cruised to a 116-98 win over the Miami Heat. 

Anthony Davis turned in a dominant performance in his first Finals game, leading the way with 34 points and nine rebounds, while LeBron James fell just shy of a triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. 

Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 23 points, as they trail in a series for the first time during these playoffs. 

Miami will be sweating on the health of Goran Dragic (foot), Bam Adebayo (shoulder) who both exited the game with injuries, while Butler played through an ankle injury suffered at the end of the first half. 

If you missed any of the action, we've got you covered with all the live updates, stats, highlights, and news from Game 1:

FINAL: Lakers 116, Heat 98

BOX SCORE | PLAY-BY-PLAY

- And that's game for the Lakers. They strike first in the NBA Finals to take a 1-0 series lead.  


 

- Miami has cut the deficit down to 17 points, 107-90 with 4:18 to play, but the Lakers are still firmly in control. Davis and LeBron both still in the game 

- Dragic (foot) and Adebayo (shoulder) are both done for the night

- LeBron climbing another all-time list! He's just two dimes shy of another triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.


- Morris connects on his second triple of the night to end the Lakers' dought from 3. They'd missed 13 straight threes and are now 14-of-34. (9:33)

- Iguodala and Kendrick Nunn get it going early as the Heat go on an 8-0 run early in the period

End of third quarter: Lakers 93, Heat 67

- After trailing 23-10 in the first quarter, the Lakers have outscored the Heat 83-44 and take a commanding 26-point lead into the fourth quarter.

- Anthony Davis is making light work of his first NBA Finals game. He's got 30 points, six rebounds, and five assists. The Heat defence has no answer for the big man.

- LeBron James has 17 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Butler leads the Heat with 21 points and five assists.


- Adebayo heads back to the locker room, appearing to re-injure his shoulder (5:40)

- LA's shooters have made the difference in Game 1


- The Lakers are dominating the glass, outrebounding the Heat 31-17 as they open up a 26-point lead midway through the quarter. Timeout Heat. (7:49)

- Davis is feasting in the paint. He's up to 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting (9:01)


- Butler is playing through his ankle injury and gets the first basket of the second half with a three-point play

- Herro starts the quarter in place of Dragic, who is doubtful to return with a left foot injury. He has six points, three assists and two steals in 15 first-half minutes

Half-time: Lakers 65, Heat 48

- The Lakers have shot the ball at a high clip at 56.4% in the first half as they make it a 30-point turnaround to go into the half up 17 points.

- Anthony Davis is dominating inside with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while LeBron James has nine points and seven assists

- Butler leads the Heat with 16 points, but appeared to suffer an ankle injury late in the period. 

Half-time team stats

#Lakers #Heat

- LeBron putting on a show after the buzzer!

- Butler takes it straight to the rim for the layup as the Heat break their offensive drought, after going scoreless for over three minutes. (3:28)

- Danny Green knocks down the Lakers' 11th triple of the night. He's gone 2-of-4 from deep (3:36)


- LeBron finds Caruso for the layup and the Lakers go up 49-43. LeBron has seven assists already to go with five points and two rebounds (6:15)

- The Heat have hit 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, with Crowder (3), Butler (2) and Herro (2) making it rain. Miami leads 43-41 with 7:30 to go in the second


- The Heat are making the Lakers pay with their defence, scoring 11 points off five Laker turnovers

End of First quarter: Lakers 31, Heat 28

- After trailing by 13 points the Lakers go into the break with a three-point lead after closing the period on a 19-3 run.

- KCP has been active early with 10 points, while Anthony Davis has 11. The Heat are struggling to contain AD with smaller defenders so expect Erik Spoelstra to make an adjustment going into the second. 

- Butler and Crowder lead the Heat with nine points apiece

- KCP hits back for the Lakers with back-to-back triples in the corner. The Lakers are 4-of-8 from deep to start Game 1. Timeout Heat. (3:08)

- President Barack Obama's in the house for Game 1

 

- Crowder cans the triple and all of a sudden the Heat are on a 13-0 run. The Lakers have turned the ball over four times already with the Heat doing a solid job playing the passing lanes. 

Heat lead 23-10. Timeout Lakers (5:46) 

- IGGY CAN STILL FLY!

- More FInals history for LeBron James!


- The battle of the big men is heating up early. Davis leads the Lakers with 5 points, Adebayo leads the Heat with 6 points and 3 rebounds. Miami leads 16-10 early. Timeout Lakers. (7:03)

- Jae Crowder gets the triple to go in the corner for the first points of the game (10:42)

Pre-game

-  Ben Hong of the LA Philharmonic performs the National Anthem ahead of Game 1

- Dwight Howard will start at centre for the Lakers in Game 1, alongside Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Gereen, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis- Dwight Howard will start at centre for the Lakers in Game 1

- Miami Heat starters: Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Bam Adebayo 

- Bam Adebayo gets loose ahead of Game 1


- First look at the Lakers Finals jerseys

- First look at Heat FInals jerseys

The views on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.