HEAT TRY AGAIN
Lakers in NBA Finals, Nuggets run out of comeback magic
MIAMI (AFP) – The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a triple-double from superstar LeBron James, beat the Denver Nuggets 117-107 yesterday to reach the NBA Finals.
With the win in the league's quarantine bubble in Orlando, the Lakers completed a 4-1 victory over the Nuggets in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
James scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers remained perfect in elimination games this post-season.
Denver, already the first team to twice come back from 1-3 series deficits in the same playoffs, couldn't work the magic again.
James added 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis scored 27 points for the Lakers, who are back in the championship series for the 32nd time – and the first time since they lifted the trophy for the 16th time in 2010.
Kobe Bryant was NBA Finals MVP that year, and it has been an emotional road to the finals this season for the Lakers after the death of Bryant in a helicopter crash in January.
''Every time you put on the purple and gold you think about his legacy, you think about him and what he meant to this franchise for 20-plus years,'' James said of Bryant.
The Lakers will take on the winners of the Eastern Conference final series between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The Heat lead that series 3-2 with Game 6 coming up on Monday.
''We're going to enjoy it tonight, but we understand we've got bigger fish to fry,'' James said as the Western Conference title was celebrated on court. ''We understand there's a bigger goal.
James is in the NBA Finals for the 10th time – and the first time with the Lakers.
''I'm extremely proud to be a part of this franchise getting back to where it belongs, and that's playing for championships,'' James said.
Davis is in the championship series for the first time in his first season in Los Angeles, after his move from New Orleans.