James, Davis help Lakers rout Warriors, reach Western finals

LeBron James scored 30 points and Anthony Davis added 17 points and 20 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers’ dynamic duo returned the franchise to the Western Conference finals for the second time since 2010 with a 122-101 win over the visiting Golden State Warriors Friday.

Austin Reaves scored 23 points and D’Angelo Russell had 19 as the Lakers won the conference semifinals in six games and eliminated the defending NBA champions by improving to 6-0 at home in the playoffs.

Davis played despite a head injury that occurred in the fourth quarter of Game 5.

The Lakers move on to face the Denver Nuggets on the road in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday.

“Not many [players] on our team have been in a close-out game,” James said from the court on the ESPN broadcast. “After Game 5, I knew we had to come in with a lot of aggression but be very efficient on how I play this game. It was big-time.”

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 16 off the bench as the Warriors lost to a Western Conference team in the playoffs for the first time since Steve Kerr became head coach in the 2014-15 season.

Golden State guard Klay Thompson struggled for the fourth consecutive game, going 2 of 12 from 3-point range, 3 of 19 overall and finishing with eight points.

The Warriors were 13 of 48 (27.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Draymond Green scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Warriors.

Green was slowed by a calf injury in the fourth quarter, while Andrew Wiggins played with a rib cartilage fracture and scored just six points.

“I want to say how proud I am of our guys,” said Kerr, whose team won just 11 regular-season road games and went 2-5 on the road in the playoffs. “It’s been a long and difficult season in many ways, but our guys hung in there. To be here, to have a chance in the conference semis when for much of the season we were kind of adrift, it shows the character of our group and how they stuck together.”

Celtics, 76ers face off in Game 7: It’s only fitting that the Eastern Conference playoff semifinal round between Boston and Philadelphia has come down to a Game 7.

Sunday’s decider in Boston will be the eighth meeting in a Game 7 between the Celtics and Sixers, adding to the teams’ record for the most between two franchises in NBA history.

Philadelphia had a chance to wrap up the series at home, but Boston’s 95-86 victory in Game 6 Thursday forced a Game 7.

The 76ers missed 15 of its 20 shots from the field in the fourth, including eight 3-point attempts.

“We stopped moving the ball,” NBA MVP Joel Embiid said. “I don’t think I touched the ball the last four minutes of the game.”

Philadelphia will be attempting to move past the semifinals for the first time since 2001, when Allen Iverson led the 76ers to the NBA Finals.

Sunday’s winner will face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. That series is scheduled to begin Wednesday in Boston or Philadelphia.

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