Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 10-2-20

Sports
Bucs Take Over 1st
The Finals Are Set: LeBron, Lakers
Place In NFC South;
Will Meet Butler, Heat Wednesday
Play Chargers Sunday
LeBron James Reveals The Text Kobe Sent Him After Lakers Signing
LeBron James makes his 10th NBA Finals appear- ance since missing the play- offs last season without big man Anthony Davis.
James secured a triple- double with 38 points, 16 re- bounds and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets in five games. A lot is at stake with the Lakers back in the NBA Fi- nals since the late Kobe Bryant captured his fifth NBA championship in 2010.
After a disappointing Week 1 loss in New Orleans, many wondered if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would actu- ally be able to challenge the Saints for NFC South su- premacy in 2020.
Just two weeks later, the Bucs find themselves atop the division.
Tampa Bay has logged back-to-back victories since losing to New Orleans, while the Saints have lost two in a row, falling Sunday night at home to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
The Bucs are now 2-1, while the Saints and Carolina Panthers are both 1-2. The At- lanta Falcons gave up yet an- other sizable second-half lead Sunday, falling to 0-3 with a loss to the Chicago Bears.
It’s still early in the sea- son, and Tampa Bay’s two vic- tories have come against far more inferior teams.
Wearing their all-new, all-
TOM BRADY
pewter uniforms for the first time, the Bucs followed up their Week 2 win over the Carolina Panthers with an- other strong effort in Week 3, taking down the Denver Broncos 28-10 on the road.
Brady and the Tampa Bay offense led the way in the first half, with Brady hitting Mike Evans for a pair of touchdowns, and Chris God- win with another score. Brady finished the game with 297 yards and no inter- ceptions along with his trio of first-half touchdown tosses.
It’s happening in October, not June, but the 2020 NBA Fi- nals are finally here — and we have the schedule.
These Finals feature a team in the Lakers and a player in LeBron James who expects to be in the Finals — this is Le- Bron’s 10th trip to the Finals, only three other players had done that before him. The Lak- ers are making their 32nd trip to the Finals as a franchise and are going for their 17th title.
''We know why I came here,'' said Lakers All-Star for- ward Anthony Davis, whose first finals trip comes in his first L.A. season. ''We want to win a championship. We're four wins away, a step closer to our goal.''
It also features a gritty Miami Heat team that nobody expected to be here, except themselves. Led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Goran Dragic, the Heat have thrived in the bubble in a way no other team in the East could match, plus Miami makes it rain threes.
''To fit in here, you've just got to care about winning,'' Butler said earlier in this play- off run. ''That's the No. 1 thing. Trying to win a championship. And we've got a group of guys that want that, night-in, night- out, every single day. There's only one goal in our mind, and that's to win it.''
As has nearly all the playoffs in the NBA’s restart bubble, the Finals will run every other day.
Here is the 2020 NBA Fi- nals schedule (all times are Eastern):
NBA FINALS
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat
Game 1: Sept. 30, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2: Oct. 2, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 3: Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
Game 4: Oct. 6, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 5: Oct. 9, 9 p.m. (ABC)*
Game 6: Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)*
Game 7: Oct. 13, 9 p.m. (ABC)*
LEBRON JAMES James explained how
Bryant opened his arms to him the moment he decided to take the risk of wearing the great purple and gold.
“I do remember when I de- cided to come here, he sent me a text right away and said, ‘Welcome, brother. Welcome to the family.’
DK Metcalf Blows A TD,
Fumbles When He
Eases Up Before He
Crossed The Goal Line
We’ve seen it happen enough times to know, you are always better off crossing the goal line before celebrat- ing.
DK Metcalf learned the hard way on Sunday in a 38- 31 victory against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Seattle Seahawks re- ceiver had a big play and a touchdown in front of him when he got behind the Dallas Cowboys defense and Rus- sell Wilson found him. Metcalf caught it and started to slow up, holding the ball out to his right before he crossed the goal line.
But Cowboys corner- back Trevon Diggs hadn’t given up on the play.
Diggs was right behind Metcalf and running hard. When Metcalf let up, Diggs made a great play to punch the ball out. It went out of the
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, left, has the ball knocked loose by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
end zone, giving the Cowboys a touchback and possession.
Anyone with Metcalf or Wilson in a fantasy league might take a bad beat this week because of that lost touchdown although he fin- ished with four catches for 110 yards and a TD, which he scored with 1:47 left that put Seattle up for good.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 13-B