Erik Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler insist the Heat still believe they can win the NBA Finals despite falling behind the Lakers two games to none.
The optimism around the Heat — the fifth seed in the East — heading into the series was significantly dampened by Game 1 as they let an early lead slip and also lost Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo to injury.
Butler also went down but battled on, playing again in Game 2 as the Lakers again came out on top Friday 124-114.
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LeBron James and Anthony Davis tallied 33 and 32 points, respectively, and both look to be in the mood to clinch the Lakers' 17th title in double-quick time.
But Miami coach Spoelstra — James' coach when the Heat won the championship in 2012 and 2013 — is adamant his team is not going away.
"We don't give a s— what everybody else thinks," Spoelstra said. "What will it take? Whatever is necessary. Simple as that.
"If you want something badly enough, you'll figure it out. Our group is stubborn, persistent, and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent."
Backs against the wall but we won't let go of the rope.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 3, 2020
Game 3 Sunday at 7:30pm. #HEATTwitter let's ride! pic.twitter.com/qY1k4pibsH
Butler — who had 25 points and 13 assists in Game 2, carrying Miami's hopes in the absence of Dragic and Adebayo — is similarly determined.
"We're never giving up," he said. "We're going to fight, and we're going to ride with this thing until the wheels fall off.
"It's not over. We're just down 0-2; we've got to do something special. We're capable of it.
"I wouldn't want to be in the trenches with any other guys except for the ones that we have. We believe in one another."
Butler added a warning, however: "We've got to play damn near perfect in order to beat those guys. We've yet to do it.
"And if we don't do it soon, it's not going to be pretty."