Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau

(Eagle News) –  Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t care what anyone thought about his team after going down 0-2 in the NBA finals Friday night.

“If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure it out,” Spoelstra said. “Our group is extremely stubborn, persistent and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent.”

Jimmy Butler vowed that the Heat would fight and “ride this thing till the wheels fall out.”

The wheels took an unexpected turn Sunday as Miami bullied the Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-104 victory to narrow the series to 2-1.

Butler orchestrated the best game of his career with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. The only players to have a 40-point triple-double performance in the finals are the great Jerry West and LeBron James.

“We won. I could care less about a triple-double,” said Butler. “We played this game to win. I’m glad my teammates had a lot of trust and faith in me to go out there and hoop like that.

“For us, we’re all about winning. I say it all the time and I mean it. The guys that we have, the group that coach Pat [Riley], coach Spo put together, it’s always to win. Nothing else. So I hope the next game, I score zero…and we win so I can come up here and say the same thing.”

With Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic out for the second consecutive game with injuries,  Butler thrived under adversity, proving to critics why the Heat belonged in the finals. Butler played 45 minutes, mostly defending LeBron James. The two echoing “you’re in trouble” during the game with Butler having the last word.

“It’s competition at its finest,” Butler said. “LeBron has got the best of me way too many times. I respect the guy for it, but this is a different time now, a different group of guys that I have around me. We’re here to win. We’re gonna compete but we’re not gonna lay down. We’re gonna fight back this thing and even it out 2-2.”

(Eagle News Service)