There will be a new king, the LeBron James box and company sent to the Warriors. They will face Jokic’s Nuggets in the West Finals
Riding on a dominant performance from LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, the defending NBA champions, 122-101 on Friday night and settled for a 4-2 overall sweep of the conference semifinals.
LeBron James reached 30 points for the first time in the playoffs while Curry had 32 but he was too alone to stop this spectacular elimination from the Warriors, a franchise that has won four of the last eight NBA rings.
The Western Finals opponent of the surprising Lakers, who qualify for the playoffs in the playoffs, will be Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, the first seed in the conference.
The Lakers, who missed their first chance to qualify on Wednesday, didn’t let their rival substitute this Friday and celebrated the pass in style with their fans, including celebrities such as magnate Elon Musk, actor Jack Nicholson or singer Bud. Contains a collection of. Made.
The win also meant a small revenge for LeBron James against Stephen Curry, two players who have marked the last decade in the NBA and who were born in the same city of Akron (Ohio).
As the leader of the Cavaliers, ‘King James’ swept three of the four consecutive Finals appearances against the Warriors between 2015 and 2018. At the age of 38, and established as the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, James has now joined his greatest rivals in nearly a decade of suffering an unusual loss.
The Warriors of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green had not lost in a Western tie since Steve Kerr took over as coach in the 2014–15 season.
Overall it was a streak of 19 consecutive wins in series against rivals from the West, including a two-year spell out of the playoffs (2020 and 2021), that ended painfully on Friday, leading to questions about the future of the dynasty. Many questions arose.
“Draymond, Clay, Steph, our core players still have a lot to do,” Kerr insisted. “I still believe this team has the potential to be champions.” “We didn’t get it this year, but it’s not the end of the road,” Kerr said in an opinion shared by his star trio.
“As terrible as our feelings are right now, we think we can come back,” Curry said before speaking about the importance of his rivalry with LeBron. “Every time it’s just a fight, basketball and competition at the highest level. You have to understand who LeBron has been throughout his career, what rings he’s won and what records he holds,” he said.
“He’s an incredible player and you know you have to be at your best to beat him, and I think he feels the same way,” he said. “In the end only one can win, that’s its nature but a lot of respect.”
In the second game on Friday, breaking the heroic resistance of Jalen Brunson (41 points), the Miami Heat defeated the New York Knicks 96-92 on Friday to finish 4-2 in the Eastern Conference semifinals overall.
Led by its stars Jimmy Butler (24 points) and Bam Adebayo (23), the Heat will play in their third conference finals since 2020 against either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers, which will decide their tie in Game 7 on Sunday.
