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At @ringer/@ringernba: I wrote about space erased, opportunities vaporized, and the Lakers' defense, the silent killer superstar that has brought them to the brink of a title: https://t.co/yqEd9xCv3S

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) October 7, 2020

The Heat won Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals primarily because Jimmy Butler did an impressive enough impersonation of LeBron James to beat the man himself. On Tuesday, in A Pivotal Game 4™, the Lakers wrenched back control of the series and drew within one win of a championship primarily because they defended Butler like LeBron.

The Lakers absolutely smothered Miami in a 102-96 win that gives them a commanding 3-1 lead and a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy on Friday night. L.A. held the Heat to 42.7 percent shooting as a team, with just 18 assists—the lowest total of the postseason for the bubble’s most pass-happy team—on 32 made field goals. In Games 2 and 3, the freewheeling five-out attack that Miami had found in the absence of center Bam Adebayo had torched the Lakers to the tune of 121.2 points per 100 possessions, a rate miles above what the very best offenses in the league mustered during the regular season. In Game 4, though, the Heat sputtered, scoring at a 104.4 points-per-100 clip—worse than what the league-worst Warriors managed before the bubble.

DPOY level defense by the Brow tonight

Frank Vogel on KCP’s five points down stretch in fourth quarter

Buddy Hield used to be one of Rob Pelinka’s clients

Lakers Take Away the Heat’s Space—and Likely Their Finals Hopes

AD’s Dagger Three To Seal Game 4 Win!