Lakers take 3-1 lead on 28 points from LeBron James in Game 4 vs. Heat

The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat tip-off in Game 4 of the 2020 NBA Finals on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC. The Lakers lead the series 2-1 but may be losing momentum fast. Goran Dragic (foot) will no return tonight for the Heat, but they will get their All-Star C Bam Adebayo back in the fold. He was dealing with a shoulder strain. Stick with us here for live updates, including stats, betting and fantasy basketball analysis, and highlights.

Final: Lakers 102, Heat 96 — BACKDOOR COVER BABY! The Heat ended up covering not only the 8-point spread but also the 7.5 point spread by only losing by six points. LeBron outscored Davis 28-22, so we also hit there. The under hit at 198 points after the line was set at 218.5. The Lakers go up in the series 3-1.

James ended the game with 28-12-8, so it was another just-miss on the triple-double. Davis had 22 points with 9 boards. If you had Jimmy Butler O39.5 points + rebounds + assists, then you just barely cleared that. Butler finished with 22-10-8, so that combined for 42. Adebayo played well in his return but it wasn’t enough down the stretch. He finished with 15 points and 7 rebounds in 33 minutes. The Heat and Lakers break for two days before Game 5 on Friday. This could be enough time to get Goran Dragic back in the lineup for Miami.

Update, 11:35 — LeBron seemed to grab his mid-section after a 3-pointer by Jae Crowder. James is going to stay in the game, but something to monitor. After that, Rondo hit a layup and AD hit a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up by 9 points with under a minute left. This is either going to be an easy Lakers cover or a backdoor cover by Miami if they can get a basket.

Update, 11:33 — Okay, the spread is getting to be a concern. We’ve got Heat +8 and the line before the game was +7.5. The Lakers are up by 7 points with 2:00 remaining in the game. This is going to be an interesting sweat. It looks like LeBron will outscore AD and he needs two dimes to hit a triple-double.

Update, 11:27 — “A Herro is more than a sandwich.” — Mark Jackson, just now, on an actual basketball broadcast. What??? The Lakers are up 90-87. Carry on.

Update, 11:15 — AD just went down after running into Alex Caruso under the basket. Davis looked to be in pain but also got up before the commercial break. We’ll see if he’s fine and stays in the game. If the Lakers were to be without Davis for the rest of the game, expect the Heat to take advantage. Also expect LeBron to take over. It should be a fun finish. UPDATE: AD IS STAYING IN THE GAME. I REPEAT, AD IS STAYING IN THE GAME. STAND DOWN, LOCKER ROOM TWEETS.

Update, 11:10 — LeBron just nailed a jumper over Butler and the Lakers are up 6 points early on in the fourth quarter. The Heat are in danger of falling apart, though I’d expect more pushback. Bam Adebayo is on a bike and should get back into the game down the stretch. His defense has been too important for containing AD, which is the reason Miami is in this still.

Third Quarter update — The Lakers are up 75-70 after three quarters and if you got on the O/U at 218.5, well, congrats (pending overtime). The Heat are still doing OK on the spread and LeBron is up to 17 points, tied with AD. L.A. is -7 on the live line and the ML is heavily in favor of the Lakers heading into the fourth quarter. I could see a run from the Heat, but they need someone to step up and hit some shots.

Update, 10:37 — LeBron’s got that look in his eye, he thinks he’s gonna play! James has come out of the tunnel at halftime like he’s Shane Falco in The Replacements. LeBron knows that the Heat are lagging a bit on offense and that he has a chance to take advantage. The Lakers have built up the lead to 59-54, but it’s still close and offense has been tough to come by. I still think this game has sneaky over potential on the live line, which is at 202 points.

Update, 10:27 — A few lineup notes before the second half starts. Alex Caruso has a hip injury but is available to play. Markieff Morris is starting the second half in place of Dwight Howard.

Halftime update — This game is like the polar opposite of what we’ve seen through the first three contests. We didn’t even break 100 points in the first half and the O/U live line is down to 203.5. For whatever reason, the Lakers are also still favored by 6.5 points despite this game being close pretty much since the start. The Lakers lead 49-47.

Butler leads all scorers with 13 points in the first half, and LeBron and AD are neck-and-neck with 8 points each. We’ve got LeBron > AD for points and AD U29.5 points, which is looking great unless AD goes for 22 in the second half. Butler has yet to attempt a 3-pointer, so a little concerned there. Overall, slow-paced game, so not sure the LeBron triple-double happens, but the Lakers may need to force the issue on offense in the second half.

Adebayo’s presence has been felt in his return. He’s playing great defensively and had 9 points and 5 boards in 15 minutes in the first half. We’ll see how much he plays in the second half. Also looking at Butler’s minutes, he isn’t on pace for 45 again. He may creep up around 40, but likely won’t get there depending on how the game goes. This has sneaky OT written all over it though. That’s the only reason I’d consider betting the over at 203.5.

Update, 9:46 — The Heat have jumped out in front 33-29 early in the second quarter. This game is going to be tight and that is evident. The line is down to 4.5 points in favor of L.A. and the ML is slowly coming down for Miami and is at +170. Now would be the time to jump on the Lakers at -4.5 if you think LeBron and AD can get back on track in the second half or the rest of this quarter.

First Quarter recap — The Lakers lead 27-22 after a low-scoring first quarter. The live lines are currently Lakers -8.5 with a 211.5 O/U. The ML hasn’t moved too much and the Heat are at +275. Jimmy Butler leads all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-5 from the floor. AD and LeBron James only have a combined 7 points, so that AD U29.5 points is looking strong. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is leading the Lake Show with 10 points early on, which hits hit O9.5 player prop already.

Update, 9:26 — Erik Spoelstra let Bam play 7 minutes and then yanked him in favor of Kelly Olynyk. Duncan Robinson was also taken out in favor of Kendrick Nunn, so this is the look we may see from the Heat down the stretch. It’s clear Spoelstra wants to ease Adebayo back in there, so he may not play a full workload. Still, his defense was solid on AD in the first quarter and the live lines are going down.

Update, 9:18 — We’re at our first TO by the Heat and its 12-10 Miami in the early going. So it’s only been half a quarter, but nobody is pulling away. It felt like this game could be more of a slog and defensive-minded and that’s been exactly it. So I’m going to be looking to see if I can get the Heat at +6.5 or maybe back up to +7.5 or +8.5 in-game. We’ll see how low the O/U gets after this quarter.

Bets for Game 4 — We’re almost underway, so I’ll go over some picks for tonight. I’m leaning the Heat on the spread at +7.5. If I had to pick the O/U at 218.5 I’d probably lean on the under after Game 3 and with Bam back. Heat ML is more appealing but this game should be close, feels like an in-game play.

As for prop bets, we like LeBron to outscore AD +106 and ADs under of 29.5 points at +106 as well. I’m taking Jimmy Butler -103 to hit 1 3-pointer too, it’s bound to happen and I think Adebayo being back, we could see some more inside-out with him and Butler. All bets are on DKSB. I’m also on LeBron James to get a triple-double at +225. IT’S HAPPENING! HE’S BEEN TOO CLOSE THE FIRST THREE GAMES. COME ON NOW!

Pre-game update — The Lakers are going with the same starting lineup as the first three games. Adebayo will start for the Heat in his return to the lineup after missing the past two games. The line right now is Lakers -7.5 despite the news that Adebayo will be starting. It had jumped down to -7 earlier in the day. There’s a decent amount of money on the Heat ML, but most of the spread bets favor L.A on DraftKings Sportsbook.