“Lakers Eliminate Warriors and Advance to Western Conference Finals, Led by LeBron’s 30 Points”

Los Angeles Lakers defeated by 122-101 (4-2 in the series) the Golden State Warriors, reigning NBA champions, and qualified for the Western Conference Finals, where they will clash starting Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets, who have just eliminated the Phoenix Suns 4-2. Another brilliant performance by LeBron Jameswho reached 30 points for the first time in these Playoffs, allowed the Lakers to emerge victorious.

On the Warriors side, Curry scored 32 points but was too alone to prevent this resounding elimination from Golden State, the franchise that has won four of the last eight NBA rings. It is that the Chef was the only one who surpassed the barrier of 30 units in his team, and the one who accompanied him the most was surprisingly Donte DiVicenzo, who finished his list with 16 points.

Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, the other Warriors figures, had just 8, 9 and 7 points. Match to forget for the Warriors in Los Angeles, against some Lakers who were superior from start to finish. So much so that they even dominated the four quarters of the game on the scoreboard. A mastery that was achieved, too, thanks to great performances from Austin Reaves (23 points), D’Angelo Russell (19) and Lonnie Walker IV (13).

“We had to make it difficult for them. They are the champions, they were not going to make it easy. We had to keep pressing for 48 minutes”, were the words of Anthony Davis, again a force on both sides of the track with 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers. The victory also meant a small revenge for LeBron James against Stephen Curry, the two players who have marked the last decade in the NBA. As the leader of the Cavaliers, the King succumbed in three of the four consecutive Finals played against Golden State between 2015 and 2018.

However, they indulged in handing their great rivals a once-in-a-decade defeat. Because the Warriors had not fallen in a Western tie since Steve Kerr took over the team in the 2014-15 season. Thus, LeBron, at 38 years old, is looking to achieve the fifth title of his career as leader of some Lakers who, it is necessary to remember, qualified for the Playoffs through the Play-In.

Now, they will have their duel against Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets. It will be the Lakers’ first conference final since the title achieved in 2020 in the Disney World Playoffs (Orlando, Florida). “They have been first all season and we have a lot of respect for them. We know what they have, we’ll take these days off and we’ll be ready on Tuesday,” LeBron closed.

In the other game on Friday, Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 96-92 on their home court to also settle the series 4-2. The Knicks had another tremendous performance from point guard Jalen Brunson, who reached 41 points, but they could not face the team of Jimmy Butler (24) and Bam Adebayo (23) and they have not qualified for a conference final since 2000.

Brunson, who spent 45 minutes on the track, equaled his best mark in the Playoffs with those 41 points, to which he added 5 triples, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The point guard, whose arrival this season from Dallas turned the Knicks upside down, he became the first franchise player to chain three straight postseason games with at least 30 points since legend Patrick Ewing in 1990. On the other hand, the other two figures of the Knicks, Julius Randle (15 points) and RJ Barrett (11), did not have a good night and added, between them, a terrible statistic of 4/24 in field goals.

The Knicks, who were back in a conference semifinals after a decade of waiting, trailed the entire second half and blew one last comeback chance in the final minute. “I like to perspire from victories, it’s what we do best. We’ve done it all year (…) There are very good players in this team”, sentenced an out of control Butler, who came out to give the press conference shirtless.

Now, Miami waits to meet its rival, which could be the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia Sixers. Both teams will define their series in the seventh game this Sunday from 4:30 p.m. (Argentine time).