In an impressive performance led by LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors 122-101 to secure their ticket to the Western Conference Finals at 4-2 overall.
LeBron James scored 30 points for the first time in these playoffs, while Curry scored 32 points but was too lonely to prevent the elimination of the Warriors, who have won four of the last eight NBA championships.
In the West finals, the Lakers will face Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, the first-place team in the conference. The Lakers, who entered the playoffs via the playoffs, gave their opponents no chance in this game and celebrated with their fans, including celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jack Nicholson, and Bad Bunny.
James commented, “Not many of our players have been to elimination games. So after Game 5, I knew I had to start aggressively but also efficiently and strategically.”
The win also represented a little revenge for LeBron James against Stephen Curry, both players who have made their mark on the NBA over the past decade and who happened to be born in the same city of Akron, Ohio.
As the leader of the Cavaliers, LeBron James suffered three losses in the four consecutive Finals against the Warriors between 2015 and 2018. Now, at 38 years old and having become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James indulged in inflicting a rare defeat on his great rivals after nearly a decade.
The Warriors, with Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, had not been eliminated in a Western Conference playoff series since Steve Kerr took over as coach in the 2014-15 season. It was a streak of 19 consecutive series wins against Western teams, interrupted only by two non-playoff years (2020 and 2021), and it ended painfully, generating many uncertainties about the future of the dynasty.
Kerr stated, “Draymond, Klay, and Steph, our core of players, still have a lot to offer. I still believe this team has the potential to be champions.” Curry also expressed his optimism and mentioned the importance of his rivalry with LeBron, noting the mutual respect and high-level competition between them.
In the game, the Lakers came out determined to avoid returning to San Francisco for Game 7 after missing an earlier opportunity to qualify. LeBron James and Anthony Davis imposed their dominance from the start, and by the end of the first quarter, they already had a 27-10 lead.
Thompson, son of former Lakers player Mychal Thompson and one of the best shooters in history, had one of the worst nights of his remarkable career, scoring only 8 points on a poor 3/19 shooting percentage from the field.