The Los Angeles Lakers began the season eight matches under .500 and are now four wins away from the NBA Finals.
Los Angeles defeated the reigning champions Golden State Warriors 122-101 in Game 6 on Friday to move to the Western Conference finals. The No. 7-seeded Lakers will take a trip to Denver to play the Nuggets who are the West’s top seed in Game 1 on Tuesday.
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They began the season 2-10 under first-year coach Darvin Ham and changed the roster halfway through the year courtesy of an array of trades by Rob Pelinka vice president of basketball operations and general manager. The Lakers just became the fourth team in league history to be that many matches below .500 and reach the conference finals since conferences were established in the 1970-71 season, per Elias Sports Bureau.
“I felt like if we ever had an opportunity to upgrade our roster and put some more balance around myself and [Anthony Davis], I felt like we could make a run,” LeBron James said, looking back at Los Angeles’ rocky start.
The team’s run resumed Friday with a legendary performance from LeBron.
James had 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 9 rebounds and 9 assists as he ended a personal streak of 18 straight playoff games scoring below 30 points.
As Kareem Abdul Jabbar who James passed as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February, sat in the second row at Crypto.com Arena, James joined Abdul-Jabbar as the only other 38-year-old player or older to hit up to 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in a playoff game.
“I just wanted to come in and make some plays and be efficient and defend at a high level and help [Davis] rebound,” James said. “Help our team make winning plays. And I was able to make a few of them.”
The same way the Lakers have done all postseason, Friday night was delivered as a powerful performance after a disappointing defeat.
They leapt to a 27-10 lead with Ham’s starting lineup move – Dennis Schroder replaced Jarred Vanderbilt setting off an offensive jolt. Davis had to leave Game 5 early after an accidental shot to the side of the head but was locked in from the start, with nine of his 17 points and 10 of his 20 rebounds happening in the opening frame.
However, the Warriors supporting the current Finals MVP Stephen Curry, slashed it to five by the beginning of the second quarter. He scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the opening frame, while Golden State could not find its footing against the Lakers’ defense (3-for-14 from 3).
The Lakers increased the lead to 10 by halftime 56-45, with Austin Reaves’ half-court heave falling through the net to beat the second-quarter buzzer. Reaves concluded with 23 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds; he is one of the five Lakers in double figures.
“It felt good,” Reaves said of his 54-foot make to end the half. “You don’t make many of those, but it did feel good when I shot it.”
Los Angeles amped up the pressure to begin the third and hurriedly tipped its score to 19 with 7:35 left in the quarter, their biggest lead yet.
Schroder committed his second technical foul and was removed after an altercation with Draymond Green, providing an opportunity for additional playing time for Game 4 star Lonnie Walker IV, who scored 8 of 13 points in the third.
The Lakers led with 14 points into the fourth quarter and the Warriors slashed it to 11 before they responded with an 11-0 run to double their lead. Ham cleared the bench for the final minutes as Los Angeles supporters celebrated the 42nd conference finals berth in team history.
Los Angeles is the second No.7 seed to advance to the conference finals since the beginning of seeding in 1984 joining the 1987 Seattle SuperSonics.
“A challenging year to say the least, but at the end of the day, we kept powering through, our vibes stayed positive, once we righted the ship and switched out some pieces, we came together, and I’m just happy and thankful that I get to sit in this seat and enjoy the ride,” Ham said.
The Lakers are 7-0 at home games this postseason, including the play-in tournament. They ended the Warriors’ streak of 28 straight playoff series with at least one away victory.
This will be the 12th time James is making a finals appearance. His teams are 10-1, his only defeat was in 2009 from the Cleveland Cavaliers losing to Orlando Magic in six matches.
Winning the Warriors got James his 41st postseason series win of his 20-year career, tying with Derek Fisher for the most all-time.
Leaders of the Lakers do not seem to be done yet. When asked if the Lakers were now playing with house money, making it this far after a tough beginning, James baulked at the idea.
“We’re trying to win every hand,” James said.
Davis, who at James’ side as he had done all postseason, doubled down.
“That’s y’all expectation,” Davis said. “Our expectations inside [the team] are way higher than showing up to the Western Conference finals.”
