National Basketball Association

Lakers Turn Up The Heat

Updated Oct. 3, 2020 1:55 p.m. ET

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The NBA Finals are rarely easy, but the 2020 edition has been a breeze through two games for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 124-114 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead.

Here are 3 takeaways from this NBA Finals matchup.

1. Too much LeBron and Anthony Davis

Stopping LeBron James and Anthony Davis from dominating any given game is always easier said than done, and the Miami Heat are finding that out the hard way right now.

James and Davis scored a combined 65 points while snatching 24 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists on Friday, and the Lakers are now 20-1 this season when the James and Davis combine for 60 points.

James himself made history tonight, moving into fourth place all-time in rebounds in Finals history.

Through two games now, James is averaging 29 points while Davis is averaging 33.

2. Lucky number 30%

While James and Davis might be the story for the Lakers in the Finals, their magic number as a team remains 30.

The Lakers shot 34% from three-point range in Game 2, which pushes them to an astounding 14-0 this postseason when they shoot at least 30% from behind the arc.

The Heat have implemented a zone defense to try and limit the damage the Lakers do in the paint, but in turn they have given them clean looks from deep and it has burned them through two games.

The Lakers attempted a Finals-record 47 3s in Game 2 and made 16 to the Heat's 11.

Through two games the Lakers have outscored the Heat by 27 points from behind distance and it has played a big part in why they are averaging 120 points in the Finals.

3. Can Gordan Dragic and Bam Adebayo return?

The big storyline from Game 1 was the injuries the Heat suffered to their starting point guard, Goran Dragic (torn plantar fascia), and starting center, Bam Adebayo (neck strain).

That storyline carried over to Friday, as those injuries rendered both players unavailable for Game 2.

Meyers Leonard, who started in place of Adebayo, was only able to contribute nine points, while Tyler Herro scored 17 points in place of Dragic in the starting lineup – although he did make history along the way.

The Heat received contributions from Kelly Olynyk and Kendrick Nunn off of the bench to the tune of 37 combined points, but there is no denying they are missing two of their three leading scorers.

How long both players are out will determine how long of a series this ultimately is.

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