If there was any question that Anthony Davis was not going to play in Game 6 after taking an elbow to the side of the head in the fourth quarter of Game 5, he answered them emphatically on Friday.
With the help of LeBron James, Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the defending champion Golden State Warriors 122-101 in Game 6 at Crypto.com arena. The victory dethrones the four-time champions and sends the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals.
"He [LeBron James] and A [Anthony Davis] both have been our leaders," said Lakers' head coach Darvin Ham. "Bot just by chatter, but by example. Stepping up in the biggest of moments. Really helping the young guys and with the coaching staff to just find the best way to go about our business and it was on display tonight."
James has played in more playoff games than over half of the franchises in the NBA. It is that kind of experience that is invaluable during the postseason, and James has been the captain of the Lakers ship throughout these playoffs.
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Much of the Lakers roster is young, inexperienced, and has only been together a few short months. Therefore, James has taken it upon himself to make sure that the urgency, energy, and appropriate preparation is there for a closeout playoff game like they had on Friday night.
"When you play for an organization like this, you're expected to win," said guard Austin Reaves on what James told the team ahead of the game. "Anytime you step on the floor with LeBron you expect him to do spectacular things. He helps us to have that attention to detail, and the focus we have to have to win. It's been a big benefit for us. He's helped us stay so locked in for so long."
His teammates think chemistry, unselfish play, and a combined ability to "buy-in" has also helped LeBron and the Lakers.
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"We were a bunch of guys that were selfless," said Lakers' point guard D'Angelo Russell, who was one of the new pieces added at the trade deadline. "Nobody expected anything. We worked for it all and we had a touch of chemistry. It made all the pieces that were already here it made them more comfortable just being who they are. "
Fueled by their energy and passion from their frenetic fans, the Lakers led from start-to-finish. Thanks to dominant performances by James and Davis, the champs didn't stand a chance.
"This is not a championship team. If we were, we would be moving on," said Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr after the loss."LeBron and AD are just brilliant players. They controlled the entire series. The better team won. Congrats to them and good luck to them moving forward."
James scored a series-high 30 points, and Davis did all the dirty work with 17 points, 20 rebounds, and two blocks. The Lakers have now pulled off upsets of higher-seeds in both the first and second round of the NBA Playoffs. They become just the second 7-seed to advance to the Western Conference Finals in NBA history.
"We're not playing with house money," said James when asked if the Lakers had already exceeded expectations. "We want to win every hand."
The first, and only other team to advance to the Western Conference Finals as a seven-seed was the Seattle Supersonics in 1987, where they were swept by the Lakers, who went on to win the NBA Finals.
Steph Curry tried to keep the Warriors playoff hopes alive with a team-high 32 points, but he got no help from his teammates who were as cold as a winter sky on Friday night. Klay Thompson, who has a reputation for big-game performances in Game 6 of playoff series, was atrocious in this one. Thompson was 3-for-19 from the field, and 2-2-for-12 from beyond the arc. Even Curry was not his normal self, shooting 4-for-14 from the three-point line.
"I couldn't buy a bucket. I just think shots weren't falling. I got so many great looks, especially early," said Thompson of his poor shooting performance. "I don't know if that's fatigue or mental fatigue. This is not the end of the road for me. There's still greatness ahead of me. I know I'm going to come back even better next year."
The Lakers made a change to the starting lineup for the first time this series. To counter Golden State's Gary Payton II, head coach Ham inserted point guard Dennis Schröder into the starting lineup to give the Lakers more scoring on offense to open the game.
"That was decided this morning," said Ham of the decision to start Schröder. "We thought the best way to put ourselves to be in a position to be successful today was to start Dennis on Steph and set the tone. He set an unbelievable tone defensively. His relentlessness. He's one of the best on the team, and in the league to guard Steph and he got us off to a great start."
The move worked, Lakers went up by as many as 17 points in the first quarter, before Curry caught fire, scoring 12 points to lead the Warriors on a 16-4 run to close the first frame and cut the lead to five. It was the first time all season Curry played the entirety of the first quarter and didn't get his usual rest at the end.
Golden State kept the game close, but the Lakers began to pull away in the second quarter. Austin Reaves scored 23 points, and drained a half-court buzzer-beater at the end of the half to put the Lakers up 10.
"You don't make many of those, but it did feel good when I shot it," said Reaves of the half-court heave. "This was special. It was special to get this win and beat a team that is so established and so good. They've won four rings in the last ten years. It was just a special moment for me."
Schröder was ejected midway through the third quarter after picking up his second technical foul of the game. The questionable call took out the Lakers' primary defender on Curry, and one of the best players on the floor with a positive 16 in points.
But instead of Schröder's absence opening the door for the Warriors, the Lakers buckled down and increased their lead. Thanks to Davis' imposing defense, and LeBron's attacking offense, the Lakers went up by 24 points midway through the fourth quarter.
"I felt it in the fourth quarter with about seven minutes left," said Curry when asked when he knew it was over, and that the Warriors were not going to be a championship team this season. "We lost, so this is a hard truth at the end of the journey. No competitor believes they are not a championship team until they are proven that they are not a championship team when they are beaten in a playoff series. You've never really heard that from us as far as losing a series because we've always been in the Finals."
The Warriors loss is the first time in the Steve Kerr era that Golden State did not win a single road game in a playoff series, and the first time they've lost a series that wasn't the NBA Finals.
James' 30 points was the 18th time he's scored 30 or more points in a series clinching game in the playoffs. That's one behind Michael Jordan (19) for most all-time. The victory was also James' 41st career playoff series victory, a new NBA record.
"Understanding who LeBron is and who he's been his entire career, the accolades and the championships he's won and all the records he has, he is an amazing basketball player," said Curry of LeBron. "He brings the best out of you and you have to be at your best if you're going to try and beat him."
The Lakers improved to a perfect 7-0 at home this postseason, and have now put the league on notice. By defeating the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies, and now the reigning NBA champions, the Lakers have shown that when LeBron and Davis are healthy, their new supporting cast is more than enough to make them title contenders.
"I felt like if we ever had an opportunity to upgrade our roster and put some more balance between myself and AD that we could make a run," said James. "Rob and the front office did that. So then it was up to me and AD to come through on the moves that we made and also stay healthy. We put ourselves in a position to get into the play-in game and play in a couple playoff series so far."
Next on the docket is an even tougher challenge: the highest-seed still remaining in the playoffs in the western conference leading Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets, and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic will be a tough challenge for the purple and gold, but you better believe James and Davis will be ready.
"They've been the number one team in the West for a reason. They've played exceptional basketball all year," said James of the Nuggets. "We go in with the utmost respect for their ball club. They are very well coached and obviously we know what Joker brings to the game and also Jamal Murray and the rest of those guys. Tomorrow is a day for us to get away from the game a little bit and chill with our families, but on Sunday and Monday we will lock in on what we need to do to be at our best against a very, very good team. I look forward to it."
It was another star-studded night both on and off the court. Among the many celebrities at the game were Leonardo DiCaprio, Bad Bunny, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk, Jack Harlow, Lewis Hamilton, Bill Maher, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman, Tyler the Creator, Jason Bateman, Michael B. Jordan, Woody Harrelson, Trae Young, Khalil Mack, and Jack Nicholson.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Denver Nuggets will tipoff on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
