NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers thrash Miami Heat to take game one
- LeBron James has 25 points as the Lakers win 116-98 to open the finals in Orlando, Florida
- The Lakers have stormed through the play-offs on the back of James and fellow superstar Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 116-98 victory over the Miami Heat in game one of the NBA Finals on Wednesday near Orlando.
LeBron James had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 13 points, Danny Green chipped in 11 and Alex Caruso contributed 10 for Los Angeles.
Jimmy Butler had 23 points, while Kendrick Nunn came off the bench to score 18 points for the Heat. Tyler Herro finished with 14 points, and Jae Crowder added 12. Game two of the best-of-seven series is on Friday (US time).
Injuries, in addition to the Lakers’ solid play, hurt the Heat. Miami lost guard Goran Dragic in the first half with a left foot injury, and he did not return. Centre Bam Adebayo also did not come back after leaving with a strained shoulder midway through the third quarter.
Dragic, who was averaging 20.9 points per game in the postseason entering the contest, finished with six points in 15 minutes. Adebayo, who was putting up 18.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per postseason contest, had eight points on 2-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes.