Ten years later, the Los Angeles Lakers find the NBA final. LeBron James and his teammates qualified Saturday night by beating Denver (117-107) to win the Western Conference. They will face either Miami or Boston for a new coronation.
The Lakers, carried by a huge LeBron James, qualified for the 32nd NBA Finals in their history, the first in ten years, after beating Denver (117-107) and winning their duel 4-1 in the Western Conference final. , Saturday.
Los Angeles, which has 16 league titles, will try to equal the Celtics’ record in the final. He will face the representative of the Eastern Conference, either Miami or Boston who meet Sunday for their 6th game (3-2 for the Heat).
Gigantic LeBron James
The superstar LeBron James, author of a huge triple-double (38 pts, 16 rebounds, 10 assists), was the strong man of the Californian team in this fifth game, scoring 16 points in the money-time, including nine in a row , to definitively push back the Nuggets who had just erased 16 points behind. In search of a 4th coronation with a third different team after Miami (2012, 2013) and Cleveland (2016), he will play his tenth final in 11 seasons. Gigantic.
Under his leadership and that of Anthony Davis, more than a lieutenant at his side, the Lakers have an impressive course, since they have conceded only three defeats in three series. Before dismissing Denver, she had blocked the road, also in five games, Portland (4-1) and its star Damian Lillard, long impressive in the bubble, as well as that of Houston (4-1) despite the threat represented by James Harden, top scorer of the season.
And unlike Utah Jazz and their rivals “angelenos” the Clippers, who had been picked up by the irresistible “comeback boys” of Denver after being led 3-1, the Lakers did not crack in this same position. favorable to end the series with authority.
Thinking of Kobe
Here they are, ten years later, walking in the footsteps of purple and gold house idol Kobe Bryant, who died on January 26 after a helicopter crash in Calabasas northwest of Los Angeles, also fatal to his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
Since then, James and his teammates have vowed to bring the Lakers back to the top of the league to carry on the legacy of their glorious elder, who won five rings in this jersey. A supplement of soul drawing on the famous “Mamba mentality”, made of an unwavering thirst for victory, which animated Bryant.
Having finished first in the regular season in the West, they assumed their status as favorite throughout the play-offs, also supported by the immense contribution of Anthony Davis, recruited in the offseason, and who showed that He was more than a lieutenant for James, but a true offensive leader, yet evidenced by his 27 points in this last game against Denver.
