NBA News Update: Players from around the league come to LeBron James' defense after Danny Green's crucial missed 3 in Game 5

The LA Lakers came up short in a thrilling contest against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals. While the battle between LeBron James and Jimmy Butler was undoubtedly the highlight of the game, the defining moment of the contest came when Danny Green had a wide-open look from the 3-point line that could have sealed the game and the title for the LA Lakers. However, that was not to be.

In this article, we'll take a look at how other NBA players reacted to this crucial miss in Game 5 along with other NBA updates.

NBA News Update: LA Lakers' Danny Green missed a wide-open 3 that could have won them the game and possibly the title

With less than ten seconds left on the shot clock, the Miami Heat led the LA Lakers 109-108 in Game 5.

LeBron James passed the ball to Danny Green after the former was double-teamed in the paint. Green, known as a 3-point specialist, missed the seemingly easy chance that would have got the LA Lakers the lead and most probably won them the championship.

There was some criticism about why LeBron James didn't take the shot himself instead of passing it to Danny Green in such a crucial moment. However, many NBA players have now come out in defense of LeBron James for his decision to pass the ball.

You can’t be serious right now @RealJayWilliams Somebody had to hack your account to tweet this one bro. https://t.co/uBjg4ZnjyF
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) October 10, 2020

That was a good pass to a WIDE open 3 point shooter...if yall say otherwise yall shouldn’t be talking basketball
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) October 10, 2020

Good look, good shot. Folks won’t Bron to shoot over 3 people bc he arguably the 🐐 . He made the right play. Did I want him to shoot over 3 folks. Yes lol. But He good enough to score over a couple guys but wired to make smart plays and that’s a high% uncontested shot by a cham https://t.co/hletKjZ8nh
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) October 10, 2020

LeBron James defended his decision in the post-game press conference and said that he trusted Green, and it was just bad luck that the shot didn't go in.

NBA News Update: Jimmy Butler confident about Miami Heat's chances in the upcoming games

Written off by most experts after going down 3-1 against the LA Lakers, Miami Heat have proved that there's still plenty of action left in the series, and they aren't in a hurry to go home. Butler said that he likes Miami Heat's chances of winning 'two (games) in a row':

"We're built for this. We've been doing this all year long. It didn't just start in the bubble."

Other than Jimmy Butler's incredible triple-double, Miami Heat's Duncan Robinson made a huge impact in the game by scoring 26 points that included seven 3-pointers.

Butler also talked about what his advice to the 26-year-old was before the start of the fifth game.

Jimmy Butler on what he’s been telling Duncan Robinson: Stop running from the basketball pic.twitter.com/yXfoIs7nQ1
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) October 10, 2020

Miami Heat's coach Eric Spoelstra was understandably ecstatic after the Game 5 victory and echoed Jimmy Butler about his team's chances in the upcoming games:

"This is everything the guys in our locker room wanted...You can’t write or print out the winner on this one. This one has to be earned."

If Miami Heat win the next two games against the LA Lakers, this will go down in history as one of the biggest upsets of all time. We'll have to wait till Sunday to find out if the Heat can level the series when they take on the LA Lakers in Game 6.

Also read: Miami Heat 111-108 LA Lakers: Twitter explodes as Jimmy Butler produces another masterclass with LeBron James and crew falling short to close out in Game 5 | NBA Finals.