Lakers vs Nuggets in Conference Finals
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers ran defending champions Golden State out of the NBA playoffs in dominant style on Friday, beating the Warriors, 122-101, to advance to the Western Conference finals.
LeBron James delivered a masterful 30-point performance as the Lakers won the semifinal series four games to two and booked a clash with Nikola Jokic and the top-seeded Denver Nuggets for a place in the NBA Finals.
“It’s going to be a great series,” James told broadcaster ESPN. “They’ve been the number one seed in the West all season long. We give them a lot of respect.”
That series tips off on Tuesday. A day later, the Miami Heat will open in the Eastern Conference finals against either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics.
The Heat advanced Friday with a hard-fought 96-92 victory over the New York Knicks to win their Eastern Conference semifinal four games to two.
The Celtics will host Philadelphia in a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers led wire-to-wire, with James adding nine rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers closed out the Warriors in their second attempt after dropping Game 5 in San Francisco.
“Not many (members) of our team have been in close-out games,” James said. “So after Game 5 up in the Bay, I knew I had to come in with a lot of aggression but be very efficient and very strategic in how I played this game.”
Anthony Davis scored 17 points and pulled down 20 rebounds for Los Angeles and Austin Reaves scored 23 points – including a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer that put the Lakers up 56-46 at the break.
Since clawing their way into the play-in tournament, the Lakers have won seven straight home games.