LAKE BUENA VISTA: Jimmy Butler had a bandage on his right knee and a wrap on his left ankle. His team´s starting point guard and center are both doubtful to play in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. And his Miami Heat are coming off a one-sided loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Given all that, Butler believes a perception exists that this series is already over. “I beg to differ,” Butler said Thursday. Say this for the Heat: They´re down but refuse to believe they´re anywhere near out. Game 2 of the finals is Friday night, with Miami bracing to be without point guard Goran Dragic because of a torn left plantar fascia and All-Star Bam Adebayo due to a newly diagnosed neck injury on top of his ongoing shoulder issues. “When it rains, it pours,” said Butler, who´ll play through a sore ankle in Game 2. “All in all, though, we´re still expected to win. We got here for a reason. We realize we belong. … Obviously, we definitely need those two guys, don´t get me wrong. But I´ve always said, next man up when a man goes down.” The Lakers won Game 1 116-98, a score that didn´t exactly show how lopsided things were for much of the game. Miami started on a 25-12 run; the Lakers scored 75 of the game´s next 105 points – a staggering burst. A 13-point deficit midway through the first quarter became a 32-point lead midway through the third for the Lakers. That, combined with Miami´s injury problems, sure seems to indicate that the Lakers have full control of this matchup. Dragic had been Miami´s leading scorer in the first three playoff rounds. Adebayo is the team´s best rebounder and blossoming into a superstar. Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he´ll plan for Dragic and Adebayo to play. But even if they can´t go, Vogel said Miami´s fourth-quarter lineup from Game 1 – a group that included Kendrick Nunn and Kelly Olynyk, both of whom would see much bigger roles if Dragic and Adebayo are out – presented some challenges. “They have an army of guys that play a great style of play, that´s very, very difficult to guard,” Vogel said. “They work extremely hard on the defensive end and we´ve got to prepare for whoever´s in uniform.” The Lakers have a locked-in LeBron James – who was one assist shy of extending his record for finals triple-doubles – and Anthony Davis made his finals debut look easy with 34 points. But James is taking nothing for granted, revealing that he was up until 4:30 a.m. Thursday watching film from Game 1. James said he saw plenty of ways the Lakers can be better. “We are playing against an exceptional basketball team,” James said. “Obviously, great-coached. We’ve have to continue to understand that coming into Game 2 … they’re going to make adjustments in Game 2 and we need to be ready for that.” Nunn had 18 points in Game 1. He was Miami´s starter the entire regular season, finished second in the rookie of the year voting, but has been used sparingly in the playoffs – in part because Dragic has been so good, in part because Nunn missed Miami´s first 25 days in the bubble because of his recovery from the coronavirus. “I´m ready to play,” Nunn said. “I´ve been ready, been all season. I had to step up, and simple as that. I´ll be ready to play and compete and go out there and try to get a win.” The numbers clearly show that Game 1 winners typically prevail in a series. The Heat know it´s not an absolute rule. So does James. All three of Miami´s NBA titles came after Game 1 losses in the finals. James was part of two of those comebacks, and his third championship in Cleveland was won in the same fashion. This feels a bit different, of course, given the injury concerns. “This is when you feel most alive, when you´re being tested competitively and challenged in new ways, different ways,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.