BBNBA: Davis, Adebayo power Lakers, Heat to commanding 3-1 leads

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bbnba-davis-adebayo-power-lakers-heat-commanding-3-1-leads (1) — Photo by Allen Berezovsky | Getty Images

This feels like the 2020 Bubble all over again…

On Monday night, both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat took commanding control of their respective series. The seven-seeded Lakers took down the defending champion six-seeded Golden State Warriors, 104-101, pushing the series to a 3-1 advantage in favor of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the eight-seeded Heat continued its surprise postseason run with a 109-101 win over the five-seeded New York Knicks, also pushing the series to a 3-1 lead for Miami.

Both the Lakers and Heat came into the playoffs as low-seeded underdogs, but both have looked the part of title contenders halfway through the second round. These two franchises met in the 2020 NBA Finals, which took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic at Disney World, with the Lakers winning the Larry O’Brien trophy in six games. Could we get a repeat of that matchup three years later?

Lonnie Walker’s huge 4th Q powers Lakers

LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 50 points in the Lakers’ huge Game 4 win Monday night, but the headline belongs to Lonnie Walker IV, who poured in all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter to help spur Los Angeles’ late-game rally. He did so in front of Kentucky head coach John Calipari too, who was in the building to watch his former Wildcats in action, but instead witnessed a life-changing performance from Walker.

University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is here for Game 4. He has three former players on the Lakers: Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, Wenyen Gabriel pic.twitter.com/VLXujvtYLs
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 9, 2023

Walker, who had played under 30 minutes in the postseason before clocking 24 minutes in Game 3 and 27 minutes in Game 4, shot 6-9 from the floor in the latter as he was hunting Warriors’ Hall of Famer Steph Curry on defense every time down the floor. Most of Walker’s makes were contested mid-range jumpers where he simply rose over the smaller Curry for clean looks. The Lakers outscored Golden State 27-17 across the final 12 minutes to control the outcome.

Walker also hit the go-ahead shot with 1:53 left in regulation that put the Lakers in front for good. At one point late in the third quarter, the Warriors led by 12 points before Los Angeles began to make its run down the stretch.

“(It’s) the greatest feeling you could ever imagine,” Walker said with a smile, per the NBA. “As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of.”

LeBron finished his night with 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Lake Show while Davis added 23 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and three steals on 10-16 shooting. The two future Hall of Famers embraced Walker immediately after the final buzzer sounded.

Lonnie Walker IV's brilliant 15-point 4Q was a major catalyst in the Lakers' Game 4 win!

LeBron and AD show their appreciation in #PhantomCam 👏 pic.twitter.com/82ArHg5Ji3
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2023

The Lakers now hold a 3-1 lead for the second straight series. Los Angeles was up 3-1 on the two-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round before polishing off the series on the road in Game 5. They’ll look to do the same thing this time around with Game 5 headed back to San Francisco for a 10:00 p.m. EST tipoff on Wednesday night.

Curry finished with a triple-double stat line of 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists, the 13th triple-double of his historic career. He was on the receiving end of a 3-1 comeback victory when the LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers overcame that exact deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals. Will Curry be able to repay the favor seven years later?

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Bam’s double-double too much for Knicks

The Miami Heat never held a comfortable enough lead in Game 4 against the New York Knicks, but this scrappy group once again found a way to lock up a victory.

Powered by 27 points and 10 assists from Jimmy Butler combined with 23 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, Miami took a 3-1 lead over the Knicks with Monday night’s win. Adebayo shot 10-17 from the floor while also chipping in two assists and a block in his 38 minutes of action. The Heat even missed 12 of its first 15 shots to begin the final frame but the Knicks couldn’t muster up enough offense to take advantage. New York (briefly) held the lead just twice in Game 4 after trailing for all of Game 3.

The Knicks still received 20 points (8-13 FG), nine rebounds, and three assists from Julius Randle, although he turned the ball over six times in his 39 minutes. Jalen Brunson contributed 32 points and 11 assists for New York but none of it was enough to tie the series up. Game 5 will shift back to the Big Apple with tipoff scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Unfortunately, Immanuel Quickley was unable to suit up for the Knicks due to an ankle injury he suffered in the fourth quarter of Game 3. His status for a do-or-die Game 5 is listed as day-to-day. Additionally, Heat guard Tyler Herro continues to watch from the sidelines in street clothes as he recovers from a broken hand that happened during Game 1 of the first round. Initially given a timetable of 6-8 weeks for a potential return, Herro could theoretically make his way back onto the hardwood if Miami makes it to the NBA Finals.

5/8/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	109-101 W vs. NYK	23	10-17	13	2	0	1	4	7	38
Anthony Davis (LAL)	104-101 W vs. GSW	23	10-16	15	2	3	0	3	5	43
Julius Randle (NYK)	101-109 L @ MIA	20	8-13 (1-4)	9	3	0	0	6	-1	39
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	104-101 W vs. GSW	2	0-1 (0-1)	3	1	1	0	2	-7	11
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	104-101 W vs. GSW	0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	-3	2
Tyler Herro (MIA)	109-101 W vs. NYK	DNP-Hand	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	101-109 L @ MIA	DNP-Ankle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—