NBA Finals 2020: Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 3: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights

Benyam Kidane

•
NBA Finals 2020: Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 3: Live score, updates, news, stats and highlights image

No Bam Adebayo, no Goran Dragic, no problem.

The Miami Heat are back in the series after securing a 115-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3, thanks to a monster perofrmance from Jimmy Butler. 

Butler poured in his first career playoff triple-double with 40 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds on 14-of-20 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 at the free-throw line to make the series 2-1. 

LeBron James led the Lakers with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while Anthony Davis battled foul trouble, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds on the night. 

If you missed any of the action, we've got you covered with all the live updates, stats, highlights, and news from Game 3:

FINAL: Heat 115, Lakers 104

BOX SCORE | PLAY-BY-PLAY

- Butler was the hero for the Heat in Game 3 as he became the third player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double in an NBA FInals game, joining LeBron James (Game 5, 2015) and Jerry West (Game 7,1969).


- And that's game for the Heat! Duncan Robinson's third 3-pointer of the night puts the result beyond doubt as Miami get their first win of the series to make it 2-1

- Tyler Herro takes it straight at Rondo for the and-1 layup. He makes it 112-102 (0.58)

- Butler brings up his first career playoff triple-double with 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Heat lead 103-95 (3:48)

- The Lakers continue to struggle holding onto the ball as they make it 18 turnovers for the game, with Duncan Robinson coming up with the big defensive play to intercept LeBron's pass. Timeout Miami (4:40)

- Kyle Kuzma knocks down his fourth triple of the night to cut the lead to 97-94. He's got 15 points off the bench tonight as the Lakers reserves have accounted for 46 of their 94 points (6:42)

- Butler finds Olynyk for three, bringing up his 10th assist of the night and the Heat are back in front 94-91 (8:03)

- Rondo's layup give the Lakers a 91-89 lead as they score eight straight points. Timeout Miami (8:55)

- After trailing by as many as 14 points in the third, the Lakers have tied the game thanks to back-to-back triples from Markieff Morris. He's given the Lakers a spark off the bench with 16 points and five rebounds (9:30)

End of third quarter: Heat 85, Lakers 80 

- The Lakers are right back in the game, going into the fourth quarter trailing by five points with Anthony Davis scoring 10 points in the period.  


 

- Butler stays down after a hard foul from Rondo on a drive to the basket. He hits both free throws to bring up his 30th point of the night (0.21)

- Back-to-back buckets from Anthony Davis cuts the lead to 83-75 (2:10)

- Butler continues to be aggressive driving to the basket as he continues to fill it up for the Heat. He's got 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists on 10-of-14 shooting (3:35)

- Anthony Davis now has four fouls, but Frank Vogel is keeping him in the game. The Lakers have missed their first seven shots of the period and are yet to score (7:54)

- Tyler Herro buries the triple as the Heat get out on an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, extending the lead to 12 points, 66-54 (9:17)


Half-time: Heat 58, Lakers 54

The Heat go into the half with a four-point lead, behind a game-high 19 points from Jimmy Butler. He's been everywhere for the Heat in the first half, adding six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Jae Crowder is the only other Heat player in double figures with 10 points. 


Meanwhile, for the Lakers, LeBron James leads the way with 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and two blocks. Davis' first half was plagued by foul trouble. He's got three fouls to go with his five points and five turnovers.

Half-time team stats:

#Heat #Lakers

- Anthony Davis heads to the bench after picking up his third foul. J.R. Smith checks into the game for the Lakers. (5:28) 

- Butler cans the pull up jumper to cap off a 9-0 run for the Heat as they get the lead back to five points, 42-37. He's got a game-high 15 point and four assists. Timeout Lakers. (6:05)

- After hitting seven of their first eight shots, the Heat have gone 5-of-22 from the field as the Lakers regain the lead (7:40)

- Here comes AD! After a scoreless first quarter, Davis scores on his first two posessions of the period, buring a corner triple and a reverse jam off the Rondo feed (8:27)


End of first quarter: Heat 26, Lakers 23

- The Lakers got off to a sloppy start in Game 3, turning the ball over 10 times. After dominating Game 2, Anthony Davis has struggled to make his presence felt, going scoreless in the opening period. 

- Kyle Kuzma's shot at the buzzer brings the lead down to just three points

- LeBron leads the Lakers with eight points, while Jimmy Butler leads the Heat with eight.  

- Make that 10 turnovers for the Lakers. This is the most turnovers they've had in a single quarter this season (2:48)

- Anthony Davis heads to the bench with two fouls. He is yet to score or attempt a field goal and has four of the Lakers' nine turnovers. Heat lead 21-9 (4:16)

- Miami's defence is putting the Lakers under a ton of pressure. They've now turned the ball over nine times to the Heat's one. 

- Andre Iguodala checks into the game for Jae Crowder, who's picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter (7:00)

- Another milestone for LeBron, who is now 2nd all-time in playoff assists


- The Lakers have been sloppy in posession to start the game, bringing up their fifth turnover. They only had nine in Game 2. (7:19)

- Jimmy Butler is making things happen early for the Heat with his activity on defence. He's got four points, three assists, and a steal as the Heat race out to a 16-8 lead. Timeout Lakers (7:58)

- LeBron lobs it up to Dwight Howard for the alley-oop for the first points of the game. We're underway in Game 3. 

Pre-game

- Los Angeles Lakers starters: LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard

- Miami Heat starters: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Meyers Leonard

- Bam Adebayo (neck) and Goran Dragic (foot) have both been ruled out for Game 3.

- Re-live all the action from Game 2 with our mini-movie recap


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.