LOS ANGELES (AP) — Six months and a day after the Los Angeles Lakers fell to 2-10 to start the regular season, they emphatically eliminated the defending NBA champions to reach the Western Conference finals.
Although the Lakers’ transformation has become increasingly incredible over the past several weeks, the primary forces are LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who won a ring together just three years ago — and who shared a joyous hug Friday night after they led their team to its biggest home victory in over a decade.
James had 30 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and the Lakers ended the Golden State Warriors’ reign with a 122-101 victory in Game 6 of the second-round series.
Davis had 17 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers, who never trailed in their third home victory over Golden State in seven days. Austin Reaves scored 23 points — highlighted by a 54-footer from midcourt at the halftime buzzer — along with six assists and five rebounds while Los Angeles inexorably pulled away, weathering every attempt by Stephen Curry to will the Warriors back into it.
“It’s special to get that win to beat a team that’s so established and so good,” Reaves said. “I think the seeding things are just numbers. When you have guys like Bron and AD who have won championships, you always feel like you have a chance, especially with the roster that we have, the talent that we have.”
The seventh-seeded Lakers will face Nikola Jokic and the top-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference finals starting Tuesday night in Denver.
The Lakers improved to 7-0 at home since the regular season ended. They also snapped Golden State’s streak of 28 playoff series with at least one road victory – an NBA-record run encompassing Curry’s entire career.
“It’s been a challenging year, to say the least, but we kept powering through,” first-year head coach Darvin Ham said. “Our vibes stayed positive, and finally our new pieces came together. I’m just so excited I get to sit in this seat and enjoy the ride.”
James, Davis and the Lakers are the first team since 2014 to eliminate Curry’s Warriors from the playoffs before the NBA Finals. Golden State has played in six of the last eight NBA Finals, missing the playoffs entirely in the other two seasons.
“The better team won, and I can’t fault our players for the effort,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “Because these guys are such competitors, it’s going to hurt. But that’s why we play: To…
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