Heat Now Have Odds of +600 to Win 2020 NBA Championship After Thrilling Game 5 Win Over Lakers
By Robert Duff in NBA Basketball
Updated: March 5, 2021 at 8:27 am ESTPublished:
- The Miami Heat are at odds of +600 to win the NBA Finals following their  111-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5
- LA leads the series 3-2 and remain the -910 favorites to take the Larry O’Brien Trophy
- The Lakers are 4-0 in the 2020 NBA playoffs in the game following a defeat
The Butler did it again and the Miami Heat lived to fight another day in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jimmy Butler got his second triple-double of the series with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as the Heat staved off elimination in Game 5 Friday via a 111-108 victory over the Lakers.
To paraphrase Shania Twain, that didn’t impress the oddsmakers much.
Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, Miami remains +600 longshots to come all the way back to win the set in the NBA Championship odds. The Heat were +1800 to win the series prior to their Game 5 victory.
The Lakers are still the overwhelming -910 chalk.
Lakers vs Heat 2020 NBA Finals Series Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | -910 |
| Miami Heat | +600 |
Odds taken Oct. 10 at DraftKings
Game 6 in the NBA Finals is set for Sunday, October 11th at 7:30 pm EST.
Heat Turn it Up
It was an impressive team performance that kept the Heat from being extinguished by the Lakers. Five other Miami players joined Butler in going off for double digits in points.
Duncan Robinson scored 26 points. Kendrick Nunn had 14 points. Bam Adebayo scored 13, Tyler Herro netted 12 and Jae Crowder added 11. Miami shortened its bench, using just seven players.
Jimmy Butler is the 1st player in NBA Finals history to record 35+ points, 10+ rebounds, 10+ assists and 5+ steals. He is just the 2nd player to reach those numbers in NBA playoffs history: Gary Payton 35 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and 6 steals in May 2000 (First Round). pic.twitter.com/j3bdzQeK8P
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) October 10, 2020
Butler and Crowder both played over 40 minutes. Miami’s star emptied his tank. Butler played all but 38 seconds of the game.
His two free throws with 16.8 seconds left gave the Heat the lead for good at 109-108.
Lakers Know How to Rebound
The Lakers pulled out all the stops in their bid to wrap things up on Friday. They eschewed their purple uniforms and went with the black ones designed and inspired by the late Kobe Bryant.
Up until Friday, LA had been 4-0 when wearing those unis.
In the 2020 NBA Finals…
Jimmy Butler
29.0 PPG
8.6 RPG
10.2 APG
2.6 SPG
55.5 FG%LeBron James
30.2 PPG
11.4 RPG
8.2 APG
1.2 SPG
57.3 FG%All-time duel.
— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) October 10, 2020
If there’s one thing the Lakers have shown during the NBA postseason, it’s the ability rebound strongly. This is just their fifth loss of the playoffs.
It’s the first time in four playoff rounds that LA’s been extended beyond five games. The Lakers are 4-0 in the postseason in games following a defeat. They haven’t suffered back-to-back losses in their last 20 games.
Injury Updates
Heat guard Goran Dragic (torn plantar fascia) was scratched for the fourth straight game. The chances of him playing in Game 6 are remote to unlikely.
Dragic is averaging 19.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game this postseason. He was injured in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis on his injury: "Iggy kind of stepped on it. Re-aggravated it. But I'll be fine on Sunday."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 10, 2020
Lakers power forward Anthony Davis played despite a right heel contusion. He scored 28 points and played 42 minutes but was clearly laboring. At one point in the first quarter, he stayed down on the floor and eventually hobbled to the bench in obvious pain.
He’ll be reassessed on Saturday. After the game Davis said the injury was re-aggravated when Miami’s Andre Iguodala stepped on his foot. He insisted he’ll be fine for Game 6.
History Against Heat
The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, are the only team in NBA finals history rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the set. They were also just the fourth team to come back from being down 2-0 in the NBA finals.
One of those four teams was the 2005-06 Heat. The 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers and 1968-69 Boston Celtics also did it.
The Heat fired on all cylinders in Game 5 and still only managed to eke out a victory by the skin of their teeth. The lead changed hands nine times over the final 3:13.
Trailing 109-108, LA’s Danny Green missed a shot to gain the lead after the Heat threw three defenders at James, forcing him to pass the basketball.
"We're still fighting. We're in it to win it." #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/HO8hYrdV7I
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 10, 2020
James turned in his own epic night. He finished 40 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers.
Game 5 didn’t have the feel of a tide-turning win for Miami. All the Heat succeeded in doing was displaying some character and extending the inevitable.
Pick: Los Angeles Lakers (-910).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
