From the bubble to the bubbly
Seemingly cut off from the rest of the world, the Lakers survived battles with Lillard, Harden and Jokic before turning back Butler and the Heat
FIRST ROUND LAKERS 4, PORTLAND 1
Surprise! Portland, seeded eighth, knocked off the top- seeded Lakers in Game 1 as Damian Lillard scored 34 points and the Lakers shot just 35.1%, including five for 32 ( 15.6%) from three- point range.
What was no surprise was what happened after that: The Lakers won four straight, led by Anthony Davis with 31 points in Game 2 and 43 in Game 5. LeBron James led the way with 38 points in Game 3 and 30 in Game 4.
About the only thing that threatened to halt the Lakers was a collective NBA strike after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. The strike began on the day Game 5 was scheduled. That night, James spoke up during a players meeting and was adamant about sitting out the rest of the playoffs. However, the players voted the following day to continue.
The four days between games weren’t enough to help Lillard, who suffered a sprained knee during Game 4 and missed the finale.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS LAKERS 4, DENVER 1
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray might be the most underrated duo in the NBA. Jokic, even at 7 feet, 284 pounds, has more than a little Larry Bird in him. Murray was among the most dynamic scorers in the playoffs. But they were no match for Anthony Davis and LeBron James in this series. Davis had 37 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1 as the Lakers used a 17- 1 run in the second quarter to pull away and stay away from a never- say- die Nuggets team that had already come back from huge deficits several times during the playoffs. James had 15 points and 12 assists.
The series marked a reintroduction of sorts for Dwight Howard, who played a total of 15 minutes in five semifinal games against the Rockets. Howard entered in the second quarter of Game 1 and the Lakers outscored the Nuggets by 16 points during that span. Howard finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a little more than 16 minutes. And Howard was a big nuisance to Jokic throughout the series.
The Nuggets, who came back from three- games- to- one deficits against the Utah Jazz and Clippers in the first two rounds, might have taken a 2- 1 series lead against the Lakers had Davis not hit a game- winning, three- pointer at the buzzer from 26 feet out in Game 2.
Denver won Game 3 114- 106 but Davis and James combined for 60 points — with Howard contributing 12 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes — in a Game 4 Lakers win.
In the series clincher, James had 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in advancing to the NBA Finals for the ninth time in 10 years. And as confetti fell after the final buzzer, he made it clear he wasn’t satisfied, sitting on the court expressionless during the celebration.
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS LAKERS 4, HOUSTON 1
Another Game 1 surprise. Guards James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon combined for 83 points and the smaller Rockets held their own on the boards and used speed and quickness in transition to score 27 points off turnovers.
LeBron James used a football analogy to sum up the Rockets’ speed: “It’s kind of like the early 2000s, when the St. Louis Rams [ were] the ‘ Greatest Show on Turf,’ ” he said. “There’s no way you can simulate that speed, so getting out on the f loor and having a Game 1, you get a good feel for it.” If James meant to imply his team would be able to adjust, he was right. The Lakers turned up their intensity on defense and let Rajon Rondo loose coming off the bench. “Playoff Rondo” was a force, igniting a second- half Lakers’ rally in Game 2 to finish with 10 points, nine assists and five steals. In Game 3, he finished with 21 points and nine assists, and in Game 4 he had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
“You can’t rattle us,” Kyle Kuzma said after the Lakers again responded to a Game 1 loss with four consecutive wins. “We just didn’t let it faze us, and kept attacking, kept being who we are, and played Lakers basketball.”
NBA FINALS LAKERS 4, MIAMI 2
The Lakers captured their record- tying 17th NBA championship — their 12th in Los Angeles — as LeBron James made good on a vow to bring the title back to the purple and gold.
James took home his fourth league title and his fourth Finals MVP, becoming the first player to be chosen the top player in the championship series with three teams — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers.
In the clincher, James extended his NBA record for Finals’ triple- doubles with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
James enjoyed plenty of support from Anthony Davis, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the deciding game, as well as veteran guards Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell- Pope, who combined for 36 points.
The Lakers enjoyed double- digit margins in three of their four wins in the Finals, but the Heat, despite playing short- handed ( they were, for much of the series, without a healthy Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic), put up a fight inspired by Jimmy Butler.
Butler averaged 26.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.8 assists in the series and turned in monster triple- doubles in the Heat’s two wins. He had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists in Game 2 and 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in Game 5.