NBA Finals Report: Can History Repeat Itself?

We've got a series! I really didn't think that the Heat would go down without a fight. Jimmy Butler made sure that they didn't. All Butler did, in willing his team to victory, was put up the third 40-point-triple-double in NBA Finals history. Butler would finish with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. The series now sits at 2-1. Game 4 goes Tuesday. 

So, what should we expect? Can Jimmy Buckets and the Heat do it again? 

History hasn't been kind to teams that go down 2-0 in the Finals. However, the Heat have their own history. Think back to 2006. Facing Dallas, as they did against LA, the Heat lost the first two games by double-digits. 

Then Dwayne Wade came to life. Miami eked out a 2-point win in Game 3. Then, the Heat blew out the Mavericks in Game 4. It was their only lopsided victory of the series. Wade and co. would complete the improbable comeback by winning Game 5 and Game 6 by a combined four points. 

Can history repeat itself? Are there any similarities between this year's team and that 2006 squad? The big one is that Wade and Butler both went to Marquette. Both the former Golden Eagles are players who refuse to "go down easy." As for history repeating itself, the problem with that is that these Lakers are arguably much better than the 2006 Mavs. Regardless of what happens, with the Heat now "believing that they belong," the series has sure gotten a lot more interesting.