Heat vs. Lakers Game 2 TV Schedule, Live Stream, Odds for 2020 NBA Finals

Things couldn't have gone much better for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals. And things couldn't have gone much worse for the Miami Heat.

After a bit of a slow start, the Lakers dominated the opening contest of the series, leading by as many as 32 points and cruising to a 116-98 win at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Florida. They outrebounded the Heat 62-40, hit 15 three-pointers and did just about everything better.

Meanwhile, Miami now faces a series deficit for the first time in the playoffs. And not only did it lose Game 1 in lopsided fashion, but point guard Goran Dragic (foot) and forward Bam Adebayo (shoulder) each exited with injuries, and it's unclear how that will affect their availability the rest of the series.

While the Lakers will look to keep rolling, the Heat hope to bounce back in Friday night's Game 2. Here's everything you need to know heading into that matchup.

2020 NBA Finals Game 2 Information

Date: Friday, Oct. 2

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Live Stream: ESPN3

Odds (via FanDuel): Los Angeles -7.5

NBA Title Odds

Los Angeles Lakers -1900 (bet $1,900 to win $100)

Miami Heat +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)

Odds obtained via FanDuel

Game 2 Preview

Lakers forward Anthony Davis is playing in his first NBA Finals, and his first appearance brought a performance in line with his strong postseason thus far. He had 34 points on 11-for-21 shooting (while also going 10-for-10 at the free-throw line) and collected nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

This may be LeBron James' first NBA Finals with Los Angeles, but he's no stranger to this stage, appearing in every NBA Finals from 2011 to 2018 with either the Heat or Cavaliers and winning three NBA titles during that span. So it was no surprise that he had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in Wednesday's Game 1 win.

The duo of Davis and James has been dominant all season, and the Lakers continue to rely on their stars to guide them through the playoffs. And in typical James fashion, he's not complacent after getting off to a strong start in a series.

"You can learn so much more from a win than you can in a loss," James said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I can't wait for [Thursday] for us to get back together and watch the film and see ways we can be better."

The Lakers could be on their way to making this a quick series, especially if the Heat are without Dragic and/or Adebayo moving forward—two of Miami's top players who have played instrumental roles in its impressive run through these playoffs.

The Heat still have other talented players—that's how they went 11-3 through the first three series of the postseason—but they likely need to be at full strength to have a chance to contend with a strong Lakers team that has been dominant all year.

Although Miami hadn't fallen behind in a series yet this postseason, it's not unusual for the franchise to fall behind early in the NBA Finals. The Heat have lost Game 1 in five of their six NBA Finals appearances, including each of the three years that they ended up winning the NBA title.

The difference? They had James for two of those comebacks. Now, they're going up against him.

The Lakers faced a little adversity at the start of Game 1 as they quickly fell behind by 13 points in the first quarter. However, they ended up with a three-point lead by the end of the quarter, then outscored the Heat by 23 points in the second and third quarters.  

Could that strong start have been Miami's best chance to make some noise in this series? Time will tell. But it will need to play overall much better if it wants to have a chance to come back and upset Los Angeles.