Anthony Davis Dominant as LeBron James, Lakers Rout Heat in Game 1

The fifth-seeded Miami Heat making it out of the Eastern Conference is an incredible accomplishment, but it is apparently a different story going against the powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles wasted no time setting the tone in the 2020 NBA Finals with a commanding 116-98 victory over Miami in Wednesday's Game 1 at Walt Disney World Resort. It was more of the same for the Lakers in this matchup after they won both regular-season games as well. 

Anthony Davis and LeBron James spearheaded the latest win for the Purple and Gold over the Heat, who fell short despite a solid showing from Jimmy Butler.

Notable Player Stats

• Anthony Davis, F, LAL: 34 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 3 BLK
• LeBron James, F, LAL: 25 PTS, 13 REB, 9 AST
• Jimmy Butler, F, MIA: 23 PTS, 5 AST, 2 STL
• Kendrick Nunn, G, MIA: 18 PTS, 5 REB

Anthony Davis Leads Dominant All-Around Effort

As is almost always the case when he takes the floor, all eyes were on LeBron for Wednesday's Game 1.

For as incredible as his resume is, he was just 1-8 in his previous nine Game 1s in the NBA Finals. That is partially a testament to the excellence of some of the teams he has faced, such as the recent iteration of the Golden State Warriors, but it is also a shocking number for an all-time great going for a fourth ring.

He was going to need some help to get his second Game 1 win, and it came in spades right out of the gates.

The Lakers drilled a stunning 11 of 17 three-pointers in the first half alone with seemingly everyone getting involved. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope staved off an early flurry from Miami with multiple triples, Davis extended beyond the arc, Danny Green found his stroke, Rajon Rondo hit from the outside and even Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris connected from the wing spots.

Such a shooting performance may have been something of an aberration, but it also underscores how difficult it is to even contain a team with James and Davis.

It requires a group effort just to stop one of them, let alone both, and that also creates an abundance of space for the supporting cast to drain threes like it did Wednesday. And then when Miami focused on the shooters, Davis was unguardable in the lane, and James played the role of facilitator when he wasn't attacking.

If the Lakers play like they did in Game 1, this will be a short series.

Heat Lose Far More than One Game

This was not the Heat team that steamrolled its way through the Eastern Conference playoffs and stunned the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

It appeared as if Miami was going to be up for the challenge when it jumped out to a 23-10 lead with Butler guarding James and Bam Adebayo showing off the versatility and athleticism to at least stick with Davis. Jae Crowder also hit multiple threes in the early going.

And then everything went wrong.

Los Angeles couldn't miss from deep, Tyler Herro looked overwhelmed for stretches, and worst of all, the injuries started to pile up. Goran Dragic was sidelined by a foot injury, Butler went down in pain after rolling his ankle but remained in the game, and Adebayo went to the locker room in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.

The Heat were already facing an uphill battle in this series just based on the star power Los Angeles brings alone, but arguably their top three players suffering some type of injury in a blowout loss in Game 1 was an absolute nightmare for the Eastern Conference champs.

Miami may have already reached its ceiling.

What's Next?

Game 2 of the series is Friday at 9 p.m. ET.